Science says: this way of texting might still keep you single

It is the death knell for every situationship: dry texting. If I got a euro for every Tinder match that opened the conversation with: ‘Hey, how are you?’ only to respond every 8 to 12 hours with a maximum of two words, I could book a very nice vacation. Personally, I don't understand this phenomenon at all. You don't know each other yet, so you can literally talk about anything, and yet you choose to sell the dullest version of yourself. Madness. And very bad advertising for the singles market.

Relationship therapist Elizabeth Earnshaw indicates that dry texters are less desirable singles because the other party (due to the lack of context) quickly becomes insecure about where they stand. Additionally, it can make you feel like you're not a priority and that your desire to communicate and connect with the other person is one-sided. This results in feelings of rejection and disinterest, which no one is waiting for. The result: potential lovers quickly lose interest.

Dry texting significantly reduces your dating pool. A study from 2017 showed that 71 percent of people find it important that their messages come across as lively. They often do this by using exclamation marks, a ‘haha’ or ‘lol’ at the end of their message, or by using emojis and GIFs. 29 percent of the surveyed people indicated that they don't care about this, but because this group is significantly in the minority, researchers believe that their short and dry messages are more quickly seen as a deliberate choice to omit context, which leaves a bad impression on people you barely know.

Do you feel addressed now, and is this perhaps the reason why things just aren't working out in the dating jungle? Don't worry: this is very easy to solve. Try to match your date's texting behavior a bit. Use a few more words, ask more questions, and throw in an emoji every now and then. It might not be your thing, but it's all in the name of love.

Source: Well + Good | Image: Netflix