What does ついたつかないで mean in this sentence?


> 世の高校生はこの「既読」がついたつかないで日々揉めているそうな。

Why is the past form of a verb and negative te form written next to each
other? is it grammatically correct and what does it mean?

Apparently it's the function of the suffix 付く meaning "to become (a state,
condition, etc.), so this sentence mean "without becoming 「既読」がついた? can anyone
confirm this usage?




It's not a te-form. The phrase used there is ついたつかない (meaning **whether or
not** ) + a reason expressing で. This is a variant of
「[するしない](https://thesaurus.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B%E3%81%97%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84)」
and
「[するかしないか](https://thesaurus.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B%E3%81%8B%E3%81%97%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84%E3%81%8B)」.
するかしないか, for instance, can occur in [these
phrases](https://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%EF%BD%9E%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B%E3%81%8B%E3%81%97%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84%E3%81%8B).

> ～するかしないか  
>  whether or not to
>
> ～するかしないかに  
>  scarcely when
>
> ～するかしないかの問題  
>  matter of deciding whether to
>
> ～するかしないかの選択の自由を持っている  
>  have the choice to ~ or not
>
> ～するかしないかを決める問題  
>  matter of deciding whether to
>
> ～するかしないか迷う  
>  debate whether to

Since the temporal point of focus is after the message has become 既読, つく is in
the past tense.

> Seems to me every day high school students around the world quibble **over
> whether** their text/SNS messages have been read.

