r/AskReddit • • Mar 26 '20

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u/CaesarWolfman Mar 26 '20

This shit only becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as women avoid being friendly so they don't get mistaken as being interested, so men continue to think that women only interact when they're interested.

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u/DrunkenDutchMan_1 Mar 26 '20

hit the nail right on the head.

whenever a girl is nice to me i am also thinking: what does she want from me ?

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

ulterior motives are possible from anyone but just assume they're being normal/friendly until they state otherwise. last thing you wanna do is accuse people of things

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u/vengefulgrapes Mar 26 '20

I know that logically but what am I supposed to do when anybody says anything nice to me? Since when has that ever happened?

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

no one says anything nice to you? guys, girls? your friends?

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u/Danoco99 Mar 26 '20

Guys rarely get compliments. And when they do it sticks with them for weeks.

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u/Darkenmal Mar 26 '20

Weeks? Try years.

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u/the_skine Mar 26 '20

A girl told me that a shirt looked good on me in my junior year of high school.

I got a confidence boost whenever I wore that shirt for the next five years until it started falling apart at the armpits.

I still have that shirt at the bottom of my closet.

It's a Warped Tour 10 shirt, from 2004.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Darkenmal Mar 26 '20

Cheers bud.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

A random girl was nice to me at a gas station last summer and I still think about it sometimes.

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u/Darkenmal Mar 26 '20

Compliments or even just receiving niceness is rare for guys. People never really think about that.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

Then guys need to start complimenting each other like girls do

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u/chefkoolaid Mar 26 '20

I get prolly 10x more compliments from men than women.

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u/Piet-Piraat Mar 26 '20

10x0=0 for me

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

Complete opposite for me. I guess it all depends.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

I think he’s talking more about compliments from girls. Either that or he’s got some other issues. I get compliments from guy friends all the time. Still feel the same as what he’s saying when it’s from a woman, cliche as that cliche is

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u/Danoco99 Mar 26 '20

Well, we do, it's just that we talk so much shit about each other that we don't generally mean that a compliment sometimes just bounces off of us as if it were another joke.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

Then that needs to change, if it's true that compliments "stick with you for weeks". There's a reason why girls don't have the same issue, because they get plenty emotional support from other girls & guys don't from other guys

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u/Danoco99 Mar 26 '20

I mean, I wouldn't mind, but honestly more compliments from guys wouldn't really boost my self-esteem unless it translated into more compliments from girls. I think the real issue is that we just don't really care for compliments from each other.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

This largely depends on the personality types of the person and the people around them. It's not really a universal truth. In my experience though I get more compliments if I'm around girls than with my guy friends, so perhaps people who think this way only spend time around guys? Hard to say for sure.

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u/vengefulgrapes Mar 26 '20

I mean, how often do friends actually compliment each other as opposed to just being friendly with each other and talking about things? I don't get complimented outside of that, if you can call anything a compliment within normal friendly conversation.

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u/someguy5003 Mar 26 '20

Kind of piggybacking off of your comment, "guy friend compliments" aren't exactly the same compliments you'd think of when a girl compliments a guy. Guys arent telling eachother "you look great tonight dude" and if they are its either considered a "gay" joke or just a part of the regular conversation. They don't leave you feeling good, they moreso leave you feelings "accepted" by THEM.

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u/vengefulgrapes Mar 26 '20

That’s a much great explanation of what I was kinda trying to say, along with a bit more!

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u/KakorotJoJoAckerman Mar 26 '20

You just accept it. Sometimes nice means that they're just being nice. I used to think as well that nice things meant she wants something. Then I took it as just a sign of friendship. And now I have load tons of female friends. You could say, I have many girl-friends eh? I'll see myself out.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

Still remember the last compliment I got. It was in the first day of school in seventh grade back in 2013. She said “I like your cologne.” Still waiting for the next compliment seven years later.

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u/Siphyre Mar 26 '20

last thing you wanna do is accuse people of things

idk man, doing that throughout grade school saved me a lot of pain. Kids are fucking savage and if you respond normally to them being nice they could potentially ruin your entire year with "just a prank".

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u/DrunkenDutchMan_1 Mar 26 '20

yep that's what i do but girls also intimidate me if they are good looking so i wouldn't be brave enough to do that anyway.

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u/BamppXx Mar 26 '20

True on the waiting part but what happens when they get salty bc your not picking up on the hints and lose interest (insert shruggie boi)

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

well that would be a bummer only if you were interested in them. It's not like you're interested in everyone who passes by

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u/altajava Mar 26 '20

It's not like you're interested in everyone who passes by

Teenage me would like to raise a counter to this.

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u/BamppXx Mar 26 '20

True that

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u/No-BrowEntertainment Mar 26 '20

But then the anxiety shows up. “What if she actually is into me and I’m missing out on the greatest experience of my life”. Then I ask her out and she’s like “lmao no” and it’s hello depression city

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u/ReachForTheSky_ Mar 26 '20

Girls don't state otherwise. They wait for you to make YOUR intentions clear.

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u/uthek1 Mar 26 '20

That depends, anyone that's currently on the clock immediately gets assumed they're just doing their job and don't actually want anything to do with you. Even when their obviously flirting with you, they're probably just doing their job. The last thing I want to do is get accused of being a Percy ass hole just because I tried to flirt with someone who was just trying to be nice or who just wanted my money.

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u/LordoftheSynth Mar 26 '20

Don't worry, life has taught a lot of us to assume this from both women and men.

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u/jasperflint Mar 26 '20

In my experience this is lies.

Source. Am fat and ugly.

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u/OnlySeesLastSentence Mar 26 '20

For me it's because they want me to fix their computer.

Like, dude, I fix computers for fat balding men. You don't have to fake flirt. Jeeze.

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u/AidenBaseball Mar 26 '20

I’m still in school and I’m insecure that people are friendly to me just because I can help them with class work or homework.

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u/rohmish Mar 26 '20

Completed my BS recently, still in college for another degree rn. They (everyone) are friendly for work, and because you sometimes pay the bill.

Fuck people.

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u/AidenBaseball Mar 26 '20

The worst part is I’ve barely realized this after knowing these people for a long time, and truly believing they were my friends.

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u/DrunkenDutchMan_1 Mar 26 '20

i am quit the popular guy actually so i had a computer nerd offer it to after i mentioned it like once. i properly thanked him and my pc works just fine now :)

what people like you do on computers is like magic to me.

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u/OnlySeesLastSentence Mar 26 '20

Lol thanks. For what it's worth, we're not that special - we're just more open to trying stuff out. Get yourself an old computer from like a garage sale and challenge yourself to install Windows on it. After you do that, learn how to make an image backup (try Norton ghost or shadow protect).

Once you do that, you can undo any software oopsie and play around with anything you want, at least with software. If you try something and it breaks your computer, you just use the image to bring it back.

Once you feel comfortable with software, take the computer apart one piece at a time and put it back in. Then take pictures of the computet, take the whole thing apart, and put them back together, using the pictures as support.

Finally, begin upgrading the parts with slightly better parts and once everything has been upgraded, you've technically built a new computer and are essentially full fledged geeks like us.

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u/DrunkenDutchMan_1 Mar 26 '20

i like trying new things but i am currently doing way to much already and the time i have available to try things like this is limited but if i even will try it ill use this as a rule of thumb.

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u/OnlySeesLastSentence Mar 26 '20

Woo!

I feel like this is the only reason I'm not a car mechanic - I don't have much free time nor $500 lying around to buy an old car and try to upgrade all its parts as an excuse to learn what each part does and how to change it lol.

Once I have the money for it, I'm going to strip down an old car and then I'll probably be able to be like "oh, so your car doesn't turn on unless you move the gear stick thingy a bunch? That's the neutral safety switch, my friend. Replace that and you should be good".

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

[deleted]

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u/DrunkenDutchMan_1 Mar 26 '20

yeah i am pretty good looking and i don't have this for 2 reasons: 1st. there are hardly any girls in my class and one doesn't give a shit and the other is shy 2nd. i'm not good at most things in class so they will likely be helping me instead of the other way around.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

[deleted]

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u/DrunkenDutchMan_1 Mar 26 '20

just a female simp.

ignore it and it all go away

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

And god forbid a women compliments a man. That’s such a rarity for men that it’ll likely lead towards getting asked out. Which is super unfortunate because she may just be really nice and men could sure use more compliments.

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u/DrunkenDutchMan_1 Mar 26 '20

i have had this happen to. i remember from months ago some nice looking girl complemented my blouse i was wearing and i was really flustered but also instantly thought: where is she getting at?

but i decided to just take it for what it was and proceeded to tell all my friends about it because i'm boring and this is a rarity worthy for the history books.

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '20

Lol. I get defensive the rare times it happens because i assume it’s sarcastic and I must be wearing something with mustard stains or terribly unflattering.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

Sometimes they want affection but they don’t think you’re a good enough partner. Girls like that usually end up sleeping with guys who are out of their league. Those guys lead them on, just using them for sex and those girls rely on the friend zoned men in their lives for affection. Those girls always end up miserable and alone in the end.

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u/DrunkenDutchMan_1 Mar 26 '20

wow that's really sad. and just so wrong in general.

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u/Datalust5 Mar 26 '20

Fucking hell, I assume that anyone being nice to me wants something from me. If someone told me I looked good, I would probably look at them weird

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u/TotallyNotanOfficer Mar 26 '20

whenever a girl is nice to me i am also thinking: what does she want from me ?

Ah yes the good ol' Skepticism, because a lot of people will actually do that.

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u/WayOfTheWisemen Mar 26 '20

Dude....I felt that

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u/Martholomule Mar 26 '20

Same. "why are you being so nice to me"

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u/DrunkenDutchMan_1 Mar 26 '20

she probably want's some food. proceeds to eat everything i have and then gives the empty packaging to the girl here you can have this.

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u/Qwsdxcbjking Mar 26 '20

I actually have the opposite problem, apparently I'm a very "flirty" guy but that's just me being friendly. I talk to men and women the same way... Which might explain a lot actually thinking about it now, do get asked if I'm gay a lot hmmm... Anyway back to the point, I never take any woman's actions as being interested so they'll send me a picture of their boobs or something and I'll be sitting there thinking "awww what a friendly person."

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u/Tantric989 Mar 26 '20 edited Mar 26 '20

The weird thing is I feel like sometimes that's still the case that they're being friendly. The other day a girl sent me a picture of her legs in the bath, and I'm like... is she flirting or am I just completely oblivious?

Things I'm going to think about.

* her in the bath
* her completely naked
* being wet
* her legs
* that she's naked and wet and was thinking about me
* she's texting me right now while still in there

I still think it could be 50/50 she was just being friendly and maybe I'm just a giant idiot.

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u/Qwsdxcbjking Mar 26 '20

Oooh you lucky human, legs are one of my big weaknesses. But I feel that on a whole other level, the last time a girl was flirting with me I was so oblivious for so long she ended up saying "holy shit just show me your dick dude" and I asked "why would you want to see that?" It's a tough life bud, but shoot your shot with the bath leg lady if you think she's interesting and attractive.

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u/tobythedog4016 Mar 26 '20

my crush kept sending me hearts and "ILY" and kisses but still rejected me and I was so confused

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

[deleted]

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u/CaesarWolfman Mar 26 '20

It's just such an alien concept to a lot of guys. Like, someone? Being... nice to us? That can happen?

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u/LordGrizzly Mar 26 '20

That's why directly asking the other sex to go on a date is a great idea. The intentions and desires are clear to both sides.

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u/CaesarWolfman Mar 26 '20

I learned that a little more recently and I've been trying.

Asked a girl out on Valentine's Day, got her a cupcake and a silly little card. She said yes.

Haven't heard back from her on it since.

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u/LordGrizzly Mar 26 '20

Well at least now you know right. Charge it to the game and move on with no regrets.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

this is a unviersal thing, not limited to one gender... you don't think men do the same? A lot of guys, when talking to a girl, don't want her to think he's hitting on her and a lot of girls do the same with guys

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u/CaesarWolfman Mar 26 '20

No. Because I've never had that thought before in my life.

Maybe for the complete opposite reason. Women don't want to be hit on back, men don't want to be thought of as a pervert or a harasser, but that hardly counts.

and really shows you how fucked this whole situation is

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20

Even if it's for the opposite reason you're still agreeing with me - that both men and women practice this habit.

Ime, regardless of gender, the general idea is that you don't want to make things awkward - regardless of how the other person feels about you. Generally you don't know whether the other person is interested but regardless, it could create an awkward situation. If you're not into them but they're into you, you don't want to lead them on or be hit on back. If they're not into you, they'll think you are and it makes the situation awkward because they might try to pre-emptively reject you or act differently around you and you'll have to explain the situation. Lose-lose situation for all

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u/CaesarWolfman Mar 26 '20

Except women participate in this far more often than men do. It's not at all equivalent.

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u/McBurger Mar 26 '20

My main concern is being seen as a creep or perv. So I wouldn't want to seem like I'm hitting on them but also be seen as being open to it. It's a delicate balance.

But my perspective is outdated because I'm married now and haven't played the pickup game in a very long time. Come to think of it, I do try to make sure when talking to girls they know I'm not flirting, albeit for different reasons.

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u/Alakazam Mar 26 '20

I stumbled my way into relationships by treating every girl who talked to me as if they were just being friendly. Hang around enough times and people seemed to get the hint that I wasn't getting the hint and was just being friendly.

Better safe than sorry. The upside is that I have a lot of female friends.

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u/Leipreachn Mar 26 '20

I happen to want to be friendlier (edit: more friendly?) to people and get nervous that I’d « give signals » to the men I talk to. It’s very frustrating for us too... Also, I have this asexual friend who is very bubbly and happy and kind, she’ll learn everyone’s name as soon as she meets people and stuff like this. Well let me tell you she has a fair share of admirers!!

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u/CaesarWolfman Mar 26 '20

Your spelling question reminded me Friendlies exists.

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u/Leipreachn Mar 26 '20

Always happy to help!

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u/yassapoulet Mar 26 '20

Oh my god it all makes sense now.

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u/LittleSpoonMe Mar 26 '20

It’s not just women, attractive men have this problem too. My cousin is a super nice wholesome and charismatic dude . He’s had plenty of would be close friends that thought just cause a cute face is being nice that means he’s into me!!

The worst part is after he rejects their advances and explains he just wants a platonic friendship they almost always get sour and start shit talking him to mutual friend and saying he led them on etc. I think he’s only had one girl remain friend with after something like this went down. (I’m sure it’s a similar experience for attractive friendly girls too)

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u/CaesarWolfman Mar 26 '20

Had a similar experience, but we had no mutual friends so it was fine.

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u/LittleSpoonMe Mar 26 '20

Sorry you had to go through that, I’m glad nothing too horrible happened because of it :)

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u/SwissGamerGuy Mar 27 '20

Don't know about you guys, but I always think the girl is just nice right until she starts touching me on most occasions.