THE “FRIENDS” GROUP CHAT
“Ugh. Another group chat?!”
That’s often the sentiment we have when we see a new group message pop up on our phone, right after we finish rolling our eyes and seeing who’s all included.
But the group chat itself is typically not the problem.
The problem tends to be how the group chats are utilized (or underutilized), which makes people want to immediately put them on mute, delete them, or remove themselves completely.
Nobody wants to be in a group chat filled with spammed messages, or keep a group chat in their inbox when no one ever talks.
Group chats can be fun and are a great way to stay up-to-date with your girls, you just have to get creative and do your part to make the group chat environment as comfortable as possible.
This blog post will change the way you and your friends interact with one another and help you all make the most out of your FRIENDS group chat!
Group Chat Do’s and Don’ts
This list includes some basic group chat etiquette that can enhance the quality of your conversations.
Keep in mind, every group chat is different because every friend group is unique, so only you truly know what will and will not work for your circle.
Group Chat Do’s
Send Encouraging Words
You’d be surprised how your good morning messages can brighten someone’s day.
Be patient with each other
We all have lives, so expecting immediate responses to text messages is just not realistic. If something is really important, pick up the phone and call.
Read the Room
The group chat room that is. If someone just sent a message about having a bad day, it might not be the best time to talk about how great your day is going. Have a little compassion.
Celebrate Each Other
If one of your friends accomplished something or simply took a stunning Instagram photo, hype each other up! Let the positive memes and heart eyes fly!
Reread Your Message Before Sending It
Although some smartphones now can edit text messages, rereading what you wrote is still a good idea, especially if it’s long to ensure it’s not confusing.
Read Messages in Full
As humans, we tend to skim messages and sometimes we make false assumptions. Reading each other’s messages all the way through helps avoid any issues.
Interact/Talk
It’s a group CHAT, it’s not group SILENCE. The purpose of it is to communicate with your friends and engage with one another. This helps to build connections.
Check out the post Girl Talk: 40 Conversation Starters for Friends to help get you started!
Remove Yourself When Necessary
If you just don’t want to be in a group chat with certain people, respectfully bow out. It’s obvious when you’re not interacting with everyone and can make the space awkward.
Group Chat Don’ts
Ignore Messages and Start a New Conversation
It’s one thing to reply to your friend’s message first and then say something else immediately after, but to not acknowledge what they said at all (unless it didn’t require a response) is rude.
If you were in person at dinner and someone asked a question, you would not come back with a completely different question or topic; keep that same energy!
Only Talk to One Person or Be Silent
You are in a GROUP chat, emphasis on the word group. If you only like one person in the group chat, as stated in the Group Chat Do’s section, simply remove yourself.
Or if you are always giving one-word replies or emoji reactions, it can come off as uninterested and you shouldn’t be a part of something you don’t really care about.
Use Uncommon Acronyms
With the social media boom, acronyms have become part of our everyday lives, but try to stick to the ones that are more commonly known to avoid confusion (like “LOL” “IDK” and “JK”).
Add New People Without Asking
Once the original group is made, you should ask everyone in it before bringing in someone new. There’s a certain vibe already established and that new person might throw it off. Be considerate.
Spam the Group Chat
We get it. You scrolled social media and immediately found 10 videos that made you laugh, but give people a chance to respond before you spam the chat with back-to-back messages!
Send Offensive Content
It can be fun to share memes and laugh together, but it’s not funny when you send something that makes someone uncomfortable.
You don’t know everything that might offend someone, but try your best to use good judgment.
Let Your Group Chat Become Gossipy
You shouldn’t let your friend group become too gossipy at all, but it’s really easy to do over text.
Someone sends a screenshot of a person everyone knows and the comments can go from simple observations to mean-girl shade real quick. Don’t let this be your circle.
Discuss Personal Info Without Consent
Maybe a friend discussed something sensitive with you outside the group chat, it would be completely inappropriate to bring that up in a group conversation if they haven’t.
It’s a breach of trust; if she wanted to tell everyone, she would.
What Are Group Chats Good For?
Laughter/Fun
In the simplest way, group chats allow you to spend time with your friends digitally. Being able to share videos, pictures, gifs, music, and memes that you all enjoy can be a lot of fun.
Playing games and doing activities without being in person is a real advantage.
Current Events Conversations
Discussing what’s going on in the world with one another is another benefit of the group chat. It’s nice to know how everyone feels about the things that are going on around each of you.
Disseminating or Gathering Information From Multiple Friends at Once
Maybe there’s an event you’d like to go to and you want to know if anyone else is interested in going, you can use the group chat to ask all your friends at once.
Or maybe you need a vote on which outfit to wear for a date, you can easily do that in a group chat without having to ask each friend individually.
What are Group Chats Not Good For?
Deep or Controversial Topics
I’ve had deep conversations in group chats before; sometimes they’ve gone well, and sometimes they’ve gone left or ignored.
You can find yourself writing a dissertation on something you’re really passionate about, and be upset if the message gets left on read, or turns into a heated debate.
Because of the nature of a group chat, these discussions don’t always go as you hope they would. It’s best to have these conversations on the phone or in person.
Hashing Out Issues
Context and tone are everything when you’re disagreeing with someone, that’s why doing it over text, and in a group chat (which is like in front of other people) is just a recipe for disaster!
You don’t need other people’s opinions on your issues with another friend, and you don’t want your messages to be presumed a way that you didn’t intend for them to be.
Sharing Big News
Of course, it’s easier to share important news with all your friends in a group chat, but if you’re looking for a specific reaction, response, or conversation from it, best to share it one-on-one.
It can be disheartening to share something really important to you, and because someone might be busy at work, or didn’t see it until hours later, they simply reply with a thumbs up.
Group Chat Games and Activities
Now that we got the etiquette out of the way, let’s discuss ways to bring some fun into the group chat!
There are plenty of apps on our phones that we can use to play games with our friends, but there are also plenty of games we can play right in our group chats!
Put yourself out there and ask your group chat if anyone is interested in participating.
Not everyone in your group chat will likely be available to play, or you may even get some slow responses because people are generally busy, but don’t let that deter you.
If it helps, you could schedule a designated time with your friends to get together and do a group chat activity at least once a month.
You could even include a prize if you wanted to make it even more exciting!
Check out these 10 games/activities for your group chat below:
1| Emoji Translation
Make up sentences using emojis and have your friends guess what you’re trying to say.
2| Most Likely To
Come up with superlatives that will have your friends laughing as you all vote to see who would win the award.
Example: Who’s most likely to trip going up the stairs? Or Who’s most likely to be an influencer?
3| Riddles/Trivia
Question games are always a great way to spark conversations. You can find these anywhere on the internet, bonus points if you can find some that your friend group is interested in. (The Office trivia anyone?!)
4| Expose Your Phone
This activity can help us learn more about each other (and get some good laughs) by sharing what’s on our phones. You can find different templates for this game right on Pinterest or make your own.
Example: Screenshot your lock screen photo or show us the last app you downloaded.
5| Unpopular Opinion/Hot Takes
This is where each friend tells the group an unpopular opinion that they believe, and enjoy some fun group debates.
Example: Unpopular opinion: I think the show Friends is overrated!
6| WWYD
A classic game of What Would You Do? can be a fun way to learn how your friends would respond to scenarios that are usually unique and different from their everyday life.
Example: What would you do if you had to plan the perfect date for you and your celebrity crush?
7| Abbreviations
This game challenges you to come up with phrases using only abbreviations and your friends have to figure out what it is. Include a clue, a category, or a question so it’s not too difficult.
Example: Question - Why did your parents often say no to eating out? Abbreviation - W.G.F.A.H! Answer - Because…we got food at home!
8| Where Have You Travelled?
I recently came across these two websites that help you determine how many states, countries, and continents you’ve visited.
Click here for the Visited Countries Link
Click here for the Visited States Link
It’s a fun activity that sparks travel conversations and bucket list ideas. One rule here: if you only had a layover or simply drove through the location, it does not count as a real visit!
9| Lay, Bae, Slay
Essentially this is F***, Marry, Kill, but I just like this name better lol. Pick 3 celebrities and you and your friends decide which one you’d rather sleep with, which one you’d rather marry, and which one you’d be perfectly fine getting rid of!
Example: Chris Brown, Drake, and Pharrell
10| One Gotta Go
This is an activity where you list 4 items, places, ideas, really anything within the same category and each person decides which one they could live without.
Example: The popular Thanksgiving meme that includes macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, collard greens, and dressing.
So you see, there’s no need to hate on group chats because they truly are a great communication tool between friends.
Instead, change how you use them and implement these do’s and don’ts to make your “friends” group chat experience much more enjoyable!
What is your pet peeve about group chats? Feel free to share below!
