If you’re available twenty-four seven, you’re not a friend anymore. You’re customer support.

Constant availability changes what you are to people. Friendship runs on two people choosing each other; a service runs on one person expecting and the other delivering. When there is never a delay and never a no, the relationship quietly reclassifies you.

Try letting one message sit for a few hours this week without apologizing for it. Notice who is fine with that and who reacts badly. The reaction tells you which of the two arrangements you have been in.