Janell Burley Hofmann, one of our resident tech etiquette gurus, is a Cape Cod Mother of five with strong opinions about how to behave with technology. Today’s topic: Group text messages.

In order to get a little tech separation, Hofmann has imposed a house rule that her son must turn his phone off at night. Sounds like a great idea, but what happens when the phone goes back on in the morning after hours of inactivity?  672 text notifications, that’s what.

“A group of friends [had started] a group text, that carried on so you can see everyone’s response, you are notified every single time somebody comments — somebody makes an emoticon smiley face or says, ‘what’s up?'” says Hofmann. 

Luckily, Hofmann’s family has an unlimited text plan, but Hofmann has a new rule: “Only say what you need to say and respect when someone says please leave me out of the conversation.”

To hear Hofmann’s advice for parents and kids when it comes to texting, click on the audio player above.