You might feel silly for getting so worked up about someone ignoring your texts or taking too long to answer you or posting on social media without giving you a response. You might feel like it shouldn’t matter all that much to you since it’s only texting.

However, in the modern world, texting is a great way to get to know each other better. It’s a great way to determine whether you’re compatible, whether you want the same things out of life, whether you’re going to be able to make a relationship last or whether you’re better off going your separate ways.

While seeing each other in person is great, there’s always a chance you’ll fill the time with kisses and make-out sessions without actually learning anything new about each other. But when you’re talking to them over text, you can see whether your personalities align. You can test whether your sense of humor works on them. You can see if the conversations flow easily or if it’s a chore to hold their attention for longer than a few minutes.

When you’re texting them, you’re given the chance to develop a relationship that goes deeper than the superficial level. You’re able to really get to know them.

Even though some people might act different in person, you can tell a lot by the way someone treats you over text. You can see whether they treat you like an afterthought or like a priority. You can see whether they remember the little things you say or whether they need constant refreshers whenever you circle back to an old conversation.

You can see whether they’re putting effort into keeping a conversation with you going or whether they allow every single topic to die. You can see whether they genuinely seem to care about your opinions and what you have to say or whether they would rather have the conversation revolve around them.

You can see whether they make you feel better about yourself or whether they make you feel worse about yourself. You can see whether they are easy to open up to or whether talking to them is like pulling teeth.

You can see whether you’re able to be yourself around them or whether you have to watch what you say. You can see whether you get butterflies whenever their name appears on your phone or whether you would rather avoid them for as long as possible. You can see whether pursuing them is a good idea or a horrible one.

While you don’t want to be stuck talking to someone you’re interested in over text forever without spending any time with them in person, it’s not a bad idea to get to know them a bit over the phone first. Texting might need seem like the most important thing in the world, but it’s a big part of communication in the modern world — and communication is key to any healthy relationship. If you can’t talk to them, you can’t sustain a relationship with them.