So I (19M) have become a lot better at initiating and holding conversations with people I don’t know within the last year or so, but a major caveat is that I seem to suck at texting outside of a few close friends. Like, I’ll exchange numbers with someone or they’ll follow me on Instagram, and I’ll just be at a loss on how to initiate a conversation even though it comes naturally in real life. Or, when I do end up having a text conversation, I feel like I overthink responses or come off as much more fake (for lack of better words) than I do in person.
Sometimes I’ll get sheepish or just plain forgetful about asking to exchange contact info despite having a great conversation beforehand, and this is definitely hindering me in terms of forming better/deeper friendships and relationships. There was a particularly embarrassing instance the other day, where I really hit it off with a girl at a local concert but didn’t ask to exchange contact info before going our separate ways, and she said goodbye sounding a lot less upbeat than she was earlier. Obviously I don’t want to repeat something like that, so I would greatly appreciate any suggestions for how to get past my reservations and and start texting more while still sounding like my natural self. Thank you!