As technology changes, so do the expectations around communication.

What would you do if you started getting sparse responses from your partner? One woman recently vented her frustrations about this on Reddit. Here’s what went down.

AITA for not picking up my partner’s call during work

Last week, I (32F) was at a work conference which was in the evening followed by a networking session and dinner.

During the networking session, my partner (40M) texted me but I didn’t reply as I didn’t even see it.

A valid excuse, it would seem.

Then he called, which I also didn’t see, as I was trying to talk to as many people as possible and get their contacts.

I replied with a couple of brief messages about an hour later telling him I’d check my calendar for April and sent him a couple of photos from the event.

Seems like a thoughtful response!

I got home about 1am and immediately crashed as it had been a long day (I had been up since 7am).

The next day I sent him a cheerful good morning message but he didn’t reply (we usually text a couple of times a day / call every other day).

It’s possible he could have been busy.

It’s been 6 days now with no response from him, so I figure he’s been giving me the cold shoulder for not replying at length and not picking up his call that evening.

For context, we’ve been together 5 years and he has his own business where he also gets really busy at times (but still does make time to reply when he is free).

Idk, AITA for not replying at length / not picking up the call that evening?

Seems like there may be more going on behind closed doors here. Let’s see if Reddit agrees.

The comments didn’t hesitate to drag the boyfriend through the mud.

Most were legitimately concerned for the relationship.

And called out the immaturity of the behavior.

But a few people felt there was more to the story.

And encouraged her to maybe show him some grace.

Modern communication has somehow never been more complicated.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.