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A group chat between three friends morphed into a strange, voyeuristic exercise as one member stopped contributing while the other two carried out a conversation.
“I felt like I had nothing more to contribute to the conversation,” said sophomore John McLean, anxiously awaiting the next notification from the group chat. “I really thought I was the engine for the conversation. I thought I was running that group chat. Maybe they don’t even need me.”
“They kept talking for like, maybe three and a half hours after I had stopped contributing. And, of course, I keep checking my phone when it buzzes, only to find they’re talking about a class they’re both in that I’m not taking,” he continued, eyes wide as he scrolled through hours of conversation that didn’t include him. “Why wouldn’t they take this to a direct text chain? Did they want me to watch?”
“I really didn’t mind that at all though. I kind of liked it. All those messages… seeing them have so much fun without me…” McLean said, lost in thought while biting his lip. “And then they started talking about plans they had later that day without me… oh my God….”
“Huh? Oh yeah, I get something out of it,” said McLean, while a smile crept over his face. “I get a lot out of it…”
At press time, a two-person text chain reportedly turned into a lonesome soliloquy.
