What to do when a guy keeps texting me even though I ignore him

When you go quiet and he keeps messaging, read the pattern before you read the message. A single follow-up after a few days is ordinary. Three or four texts over two weeks with no reply from you tells you something about how he handles uncertainty. Some people keep texting because they're interested and want to keep the conversation alive. Others keep texting because they've been told that persistence works, or because they don't know how to read silence.

Look at what the messages contain. If they're just checking in, with no question and no plans, he may be filling the gap rather than pushing for anything specific. If he's asking to meet, complaining about not hearing back, or getting more direct, he's looking for a clearer answer. Either way, the silence has already told him something, and another unanswered message adds nothing.

The reply you send should match what you actually feel, not what you think will keep things open or what will let you avoid an awkward moment. There are roughly three shapes a reply can take. One is a short acknowledgement that doesn't commit you to anything, something like a quick hello with no question attached. Another is a clear, friendly note that you're not really feeling the conversation and would rather stop there. A third is an answer to a specific question he asked, if you do want to keep talking.

You can tell a draft is working if it's short, has no hidden hook, and doesn't ask him to prove anything. Leave out apologies for the silence, lists of reasons you've been busy, and any sarcasm about his messages. Each of those gives him something to respond to, and you'll be back in the loop you were trying to exit.

If you decide to answer, send it when you're not already irritated or exhausted, and not in the middle of a late-night scroll. A reply sent at 1am after a week of silence often reads as either far too eager or oddly cold, and you can't take back a tone you didn't mean. A calm daytime reply, even a brief one, usually lands better.

If you answer and he goes quiet, leave it. Don't follow up within a day to check he got it. If he keeps texting after you've given a clear answer, you're allowed to stop replying altogether, and most people who've been told no clearly will stop on their own within a week or two. If he keeps pushing after a clear no, that's the point where you can block him without further explanation.