He's social with you in groups but ignores your one-on-one texts

When someone lights up around you in a crowd but ghosts your texts, he's showing you two different versions of himself. In a group, the conversation carries itself. He doesn't have to think about you specifically or hold a thread. He just reacts, laughs, builds on the moment. Alone, he has to actually choose to engage with you.

This gap is the signal. If he wanted to know you as a person, he would push back against the silence. He would text first sometimes. He would break the pattern. The pattern itself is data. It tells you he's happy to enjoy you when it costs him nothing, and uninterested in the work of actual connection.

Your reply should be short and ask for something specific that requires him to think about you alone, not just react in a group. Don't reference the group setting or use in-jokes. Keep it personal but low stakes. A question he can't answer with a gif or a one-word response, but not so big it feels like a commitment.

The move here is to strip away the group energy and make him actually decide. Does he want to text you back about your thing, or does he want to stay silent. Don't soften the choice by over-explaining, being warm, or filling the gap with more text. Let the silence between his last group laugh and your new message sit. Make him cross it intentionally.

If he replies within 24 hours, he probably has some real interest. If it takes him three days but he replies, he's low-effort but potentially still game. If a week passes, you have your answer. Don't send a follow-up after three days. Don't make excuses for him in your head. Silence at that point is a choice.

If he doesn't reply at all, stop texting. Respond to group chats if you see him, act normal, but don't send him another direct message for at least a month. If he reaches out later, he's testing whether you're still available. You can reply then, but keep that interaction short too. He's already shown you what he prioritizes.