I don't think that your friends mean anything by acting they way they do. It's just the way life swings them around, they have their own lives to live, things to do, places to be, etc...

They probably think, for example: "Oh, ok, I got a text from 10yrsgone, now I know he's ok, so moving on..."

Some people just don't think to extend the courtesy of ringing/texting/emailing back the friends who contacted them just to say "roger that" or "over and out". And people don't even think that the friend who contacted them is expecting a reply so he/she can move on too.

I don't know, I'm just failing to see anything wrong with that, maybe because I don't have any friends these days to start with, or perhaps because I don't even understand the concept of "friendship" anymore. And maybe that disqualifies me for replying to this thread.

I've always seen the world as a big pressure cooker overfilled with beans drowning in boiling water. Every bean for itself, trying to reach the top so they'll last a little longer rather than cooking and losening their skin just to get eaten at the end of the process.

I guess that what I am trying to say is, you've got your problems, and so do they. Especially now at Christmas time. It's not only extra bills to pay, it's also a hard time of the year for a lot of people in the "family and relationships" department...

Just because they don't answer back when you contact them, doesn't mean that they don't care, just that they might be juggling dozens of other tasks that require more immediate attention.

If it was me, I woudn't waste much time obsessing over it., I'd just move on to the next trouble on my list for the day.