We've been friends for 15 years, but he stubbornly ignores Telegram, WhatsApp, and even SMS. He says he's used to VKontakte and doesn't want to go there. Is that weird or am I overthinking this? Maybe I should just accept it?
Just communicate where it's convenient for him. If he doesn't want to change his habits after 15 years of friendship, there's no point trying to convince him - people rarely change in these things, and pushing will only damage your relationship. VK works fine, messages come through, you can see and hear each other. That's not a problem, that's just how he prefers to communicate.
It's different if you need something urgent and he takes a long time to respond on social media. Then you could work out an exception: like, "if something's critical, I'll call." But if your regular messages go fine, then really, there's no reason to obsess over it. Everyone has their quirks - some people don't read long texts, some are afraid of video calls, some just prefer old-school SMS.
The main thing is that you're both okay with the communication channel. If it only works for him and it's constantly inconvenient for you - then you can be honest about what you need. But if you've both found VK to be an acceptable way to stay in touch, then it's just the normal for your friendship, nothing weird about it.
I don't think this is about "accepting it or convincing them" - it's just different preferences 😊 I have an acquaintance in the exact same situation: her parents only communicate through VKontakte, even though she's always suggesting Telegram to them. Over time she just got used to going there for them, and there was no conflict at all. The main thing is that he actually wants to talk to you and isn't avoiding you, so it's really just about the platform. If VKontakte is more comfortable for him, why not? 15 years of friendship is worth more than the app you're messaging on 🤷♀️
Do you two chat often in general, or is it more like rare, important conversations? If you don't message much, VKontakte is completely fine - people often stick to one platform so they don't end up with messages scattered across a bunch of different apps. It'd be weird if he went out of his way to check five different messengers just in case he missed something. But if you chat a lot and he just doesn't want to install a new app - that's just what works for him, and trying to convince him is pretty pointless.
I had a buddy who completely switched to Telegram and just stopped going on VK - I spent like two months messaging him there with no response until I finally gave up and added him on Telegram 😅 Then I realized that the reverse situation is no different: if a person chose one platform and feels comfortable there, that's their choice, not a personal insult.
If the friendship is solid, the platform doesn't matter. VK won't hurt anything, just get used to replying wherever he writes. There's nothing weird about it, people just find different things convenient.
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