When you pick up your phone and type away, it's usually to check in on someone, share gossip you were supposed to keep secret, or ask for a favor. You rarely do it to send a simple "hi, how are you?", a text that sounds empty. Yet, sending a text without a specific purpose would be just as beneficial as chatting about the weather with your baker.
Sending a text message for no particular reason: an unusual wellness tip
In an age of ubiquitous group chats, voicemails resembling podcasts, and endless notifications, text messages are occasional. Your mom is the only one who enriches your inbox, once overflowing with GIFs, gossip, and lengthy, literary mea culpa-like rants. While back in the days of the hashtag “swag” and Tumblr photos, you exchanged banalities via your flip phones, today you only text to break a story and play the “gossip girl.”
You pick up your virtual pen to gossip, recount your corporate life, which resembles a telenovela, or arrange get-togethers with your friends. You send messages to give updates on your current romance with that man you met at the supermarket checkout or to plan your next sleepover. However, you don't have the reflex to send spontaneous little "wows" like the "wiz" on MSN. For you, that would be like sending empty bubbles.
Yet, text messaging was initially invented to stay connected despite distance (and to reassure parents during high school). Content creator @simply_nikkib_ recommends returning to the original definition of texting and not waiting for a burning issue to start a conversation via text. According to her, it's not a way to kill time but rather a soothing ritual. Every week, she makes a point of sending a message to her loved ones, just as a caring mother would to a child miles away. A simple and free habit that enriches her inner peace.
@simply_nikkib_ Barely Better Week 10: Has grandma really always known best? #barelybetter #wellnessroutine #morningroutine #data ♬ original sound - SimplyNikkiB
An idea that originated on TikTok and has been validated by science.
The content creator, who sent spontaneous messages to her loved ones for several weeks in a row, spoke about her experience afterward. She recounted this seemingly mundane social experiment. According to her account, it was anything but a superficial gesture or a way to combat boredom. It almost became a positive ritual, an accessible way to boost her dopamine levels. She said that sending these spontaneous, heartfelt messages triggered a burst of joy and put her in a good mood for the rest of the day. And it's far from a far-fetched theory.
A study published in the journalCommunication Research supports the content creator's hypothesis. According to the results, chatting with at least one friend during the day could boost well-being as much as a walk in the woods or a hot bath. The good news is: you don't need to be face-to-face to reap the benefits. Whether it's a real-life conversation around a table or a quick text message, you have every reason to connect with your loved ones.
“A simple text message can lead to an exchange that strengthens the bond and helps you feel less isolated,” adds Dr. Melissa Gluck, a psychologist, in Bustle magazine. In other words, you don't have to strain your thumbs with endless texts to stay in touch. Nor do you need to find a pretext or a juicy topic to say “I'm thinking of you” or spread the word.
The message's content? Abundant gratitude.
The content creator behind this digital practice doesn't simply send a casual "hi, how are you?" or ask closed questions that will only elicit a "yes" or "no" in response. She sows gratitude in pixels and hopes to bring a smile to the faces of her recipients. She pays small tributes to her loved ones through a grateful text message, a small affectionate thought, or words imbued with tenderness.
In fact, she suggests a few opening lines like: "Hi! I'm thinking of you! What's new?" or, if you're more emotionally comfortable: "Just sending you a quick message to say hello and I love you!" "There's something comforting about spreading kindness, which tends to come back to us," explains Gluck. That's the whole principle of the law of attraction: we attract what we are.
In other words, there's no need to wait for big news, an existential crisis, or a plot point worthy of a TV series to get back in touch. Simply making someone's phone vibrate with a heartfelt "thinking of you" becomes almost a small, discreet, yet effective gesture of care.
In a daily life saturated with functional messages, reminders and urgent notifications, this type of free SMS acts as a social breather.
