What would you ume in this situation?

I was seeing this guy for over a month and a half. About a week ago, he sent an e-mail stating that right now he doesn't really have time for a relationship- that right now he can't give me the attention I need and that it isn't fair to me. So, I then sent him an e-mail back stating that I can understand and respect him for his honesty, good luck and take care. Then a day later, he is showing online on my messenger list every evening for the last few days, where as to before we rarely talked online- barely was online on my messenger list (more so talked on the phone). I would just think that if he no longer wants to see me anymore, why would he still want to appear online to me? Do you think that he is trying to get a reaction from me? Perhaps playing games, or wanting to see if I still want to see him? Or maybe he's just illiterate when it comes to messenger, not realizing that he can talk to selected people and appear offline to others. What do you think?