Some of us who grew up without cellphones find the expectation of instant availability to be rude. My phone remains on silent for days at a time unless I’m on call. It’s actually possible I didn’t even see your message. I’m pretty sure my last relationship blew up because I don’t live and die by my cellphone. But if that’s all it takes, the relationship wasn’t strong enough anyway.

I have a friend also for whom I frequently don’t return texts for days or weeks at a time. She understands. Personalities are at play here too. I’m not sure it’s possible to make someone understand the difference if they aren’t the same kind of person.