Group chats started out with such promise. Just a fun place to stay in touch, right? Keep the vibes alive. Share memes. Coordinate brunch. But somewhere along the way, they turned into digital purgatory. Everyone says they love the group chat. No one actually means it.

  1. They never freaking endThere’s no off switch. No clean escape. You mute it, but then feel guilty. You leave, but that feels dramatic. Like you just announced a divorce. And it’s never just one group chat. It’s the family one, the work one, the friend one, the spin class one. Every corner of your life wants a thread now. It’s exhausting.

  2. The notification anxiety is realEver glance at your phone and see 87 unread messages? And your heart sinks because you know it’s just 30 minutes of back-and-forth about something like whether Greg is bringing salad or dessert. Half of them are reaction emojis. The other half is someone typing “lol” four separate times. Your screen lights up like Times Square for absolutely no reason.

  3. The vibe gets weird fastSome group chats are chill. Others? They’re a minefield. Someone always overshares. Someone else sends a blurry pic of their lunch and demands feedback. Someone drops a heavy political opinion outta nowhere. And suddenly you’re spiraling because your aunt just called the vaccine a government tracking chip and now it’s on your phone forever.

  4. Trying to make plans in them is a nightmare"What time works for everyone?" Doomed question. You’ll get six different answers, three people who ghost, and one guy who keeps replying “maybe” like that helps. No one makes a decision. Two weeks pass. Nothing happens. Everyone just agrees to “circle back.” Again.

  5. Someone always thinks they’re the main characterEvery group chat has that person who thinks it’s their personal blog. They post life updates, selfies, long rants, links to weird conspiracy TikToks. You didn’t sign up for a solo show, but here you are. Clapping politely. Muting aggressively.

  6. The energy mismatch is brutalYou drop a fire meme. Crickets. Someone else shares a Dad joke? Full thread of laughing emojis and praise. You try to make a real comment? Thread dies. But if you send “omg same,” suddenly 12 people reply. Group chats are emotional roulette.

  7. You can never find that one important thingSomeone shared a link. Or an address. Or a password. It’s in there somewhere. But now you have to scroll through six months of gifs, memes, and birthday messages to find it. Good luck. Hope you don’t die of old age before you do.

Let’s be honest. We all hate group chats a little. But we stay. Out of politeness. FOMO. Obligation. Habit. Maybe one day we’ll break free. Until then, mute liberally and reply selectively. It’s the only way to survive.