I have Farmer’s Wife: Handle with Care! Part 1: Angel Adventthis friend — let's call him Mike because that's his name — who loves iMessage Tapbacks. You know, those little reaction bubbles that appear when you click on a text on your iPhone.Send a good joke in the group chat, and he'll give a "haha." Ask to meet at a specific time, and he'll respond with a "thumbs up." Send a corny dad joke, and you'll get a "thumbs down" in return.
You get the picture; I hate the picture.
Tapbacks are annoying, and I don't like them. Write a real response! It takes five seconds.
I fully understand this is an "old man yells at cloud" take — this series is called Don't @ Me, after all — but sometimes the grouchy take is the correct one.
Tapbacks, which is how Apple has branded reactions in iMessage, launched with iOS10 in 2016. Even at the time, people were calling it lazy. Those people were correct.
Text messages should be a place for familiarity. It is primarily a place for conversation. Why would we willingly turn it into a workplace-like chat? Or, worse, social media? Do you want your conversation with friends to resemble Instagram, with mindless Likes sprayed about? Do you want it to look like Slack, where you thumbs up your latest assignment?
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Just answer your texts. Write a couple of words. I know I sound like a Boomer complaining that nobody makes phone calls anymore — but seriously, are our lives so busy, our attention so short that we cannot be bothered to do more than a Tapback reaction? If I'm giving you comedy gold in the group chat, I want a hahaha or a lmaoor, hell, even a lol.
I understand I am in the minority here. Most people use and like Tapbacks — one coworker at Mashable couldn't comprehend how I'd communicate without them. It's impossible to ignore the fact that they do hold some utility. Thumbs-upping a message like "Dinner's at six" makes sense. But watch any horridly long tech event, and you'll see a long parade of executives touting how efficienttheir tech will make your life. But a good portion of communication with loved ones happens over tech. I neither need nor want Tapbacks to make those conversations more efficient.
I should tell my buddy, "Sounds great, excited to see you," instead of mindlessly reacting to a text making plans. It's a little thing but a thing that matters. My life doesn't need to be reduced to its finest parts. I don't need to reclaim a minuscule amount of time at the expense of another human being on the other end of my inbox.
Think about it. What feels better: a thumbs up or a "sounds great?" An "omg that's cool" or a heart? A "gahahaha" or a little hahaemoji?
SEE ALSO: No one agrees on what iMessage Tapbacks actually meanLet's also not forget there's still no consensus on how to interpret some Tapbacks. They can easily come off as dismissive, rude, and passive-aggressive. A thumbs up so easily becomes the dreaded "ok." Perhaps some of this confusion will be alleviated with expanded emoji Tapbacks in iOS18.
I'm not saying to remove Tapbacks from your life entirely, though I rarely use them. They have utility for business-like interactions. But we must realize that Tapbacks are an insidious part of a broader movement to make our lives as efficient as possible. And do we need or want that? Do you need to signal to a friend that you're too busy to type five words? That you can't be bothered to have a reaction of your own? You don't need to heart or thumbs-up everything and everyone in your life. Use your words.
Topics Apple iPhone
Previous：A Serious Man
Next：Moving Targets
Is Trump the New Clinton?
Uber wants to build a better map. Next stop? Australia.
Newspaper bills Donald Trump's inauguration as an episode of 'The Twilight Zone'
Kaspersky Lab exposed users' browsers to website tracking
Justin Trudeau and his Socks
Uber Pool without all the stops is finally an option for some rides
Why being a 'weekend warrior' is still good for your health
Huawei's first HarmonyOS device is a smart TV
Et tu, Boris?
10 of the most hilarious calls received by the RSPCA
Imagine Dragons
Despite embracing the government, DEF CON maintains its mischievous hacker roots
Reliance Jio is bringing Apple's HealthKit features to India with its new app
Facebook reminds private groups: We're watching
Yesterday’s Liberal
China warns Trump again that he is 'playing with fire'
Trump to use personal Twitter account instead of @POTUS, report says
New Obama/Biden memes are here to help you survive inauguration week
Art After Social Collapse
Apple might launch new iPhones on September 10
Women in Crime: An Interview with Sarah WeinmanPatricia Highsmith’s Morbid Unpublished Essay on GreenwoodBetter Than Your Name in Lights? Your Name in Appliqué.Some Are More Human Than Others: Stevie Smith’s SketchesWilliam Seabrook’s “The Magic Island” Brought Zombies to AmericaLOL Cats by Sadie SteinEnglish Has Only Three Dedicated Smell Words—We Need MoreTuesday: Ben Lerner and Thomas Demand at MoMA Book StorePatricia Highsmith’s Morbid Unpublished Essay on GreenwoodElliot Paul’s “The Last Time I Saw Paris” (1942)The Other Paris: An Interview with Luc SanteI Thought My Dad Had No More Secrets to Tell, But...Saturday: See Lorin Stein Discuss “Narcissus and Literature”I Thought My Dad Had No More Secrets to Tell, But...“The Most Exquisite Book About Supermarket Store Displays”Barbara Pym’s Fashion Was As Good as Her WritingKilroy Is Still Here: Soldiers, Graffiti, and LatrinaliaPortable People: Short Fiction by the Late Paul WestRead Our Interviews with Pevear & Volokhonsky, and Peter ColeFloating Capital: A Tour of Levitating Businessmen in Literature The real winner at the AMAs was Lizzo's tiny purse Unenthused kid in a bouncy house is our collective muse Apple is removing all vaping apps from its App Store Free online resources for kids that celebrate Black history and culture For one beautiful night, #fartgate actually united all of Twitter An especially cold text reply about setting boundaries is a copypasta now What does it mean that 'The Last of Us' episode 3 has been 'review bombed'? 'The Last of Us' episode 4: Who is Kathleen? Elon Musk locked his Twitter account and went private. Here's why. Airbnb now lets you take cooking classes with locals from 75+ countries Cute friendship alert: Dog watches over abandoned baby giraffe Trump's unexpected hospital trip has Twitter conspiracies in overdrive Which eBay auction is selling Tom Brady’s actual retirement sand? Probably none. How to watch 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' Scientists just found a fascinating Earth Twitter may soon charge brands $1000 to keep gold checkmark Google's health data policies spook lawmakers into examining loopholes Weird, this 10 13 gifts for people with acid reflux Future kids are going to be pretty confused about history, thanks to this meme
2.3855s , 8223.0390625 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Farmer’s Wife: Handle with Care! Part 1: Angel Advent】,Pursuit Information Network