What is a dating game, you ask? Well, dating games are interactions between people that appear honest, but hold other motives. Most often, dating games are used to manipulate people. Honestly, sometimes people aren't even aware they're playing a dating game. However, the games happen, and they're a pain. There are three commonly used games, and I think you'll be surprised by how often you experience them.

Impression Management

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Basically, this game consists of someone saying they like, believe, or feel things they don't to create an impression of similarity. In relation to today's society, this could be a guy telling a girl he loves her favorite song when he actually hates it, or a girl telling a guy she likes his new haircut when she truly thinks it's awful on him. Some of these so-called 'little white lies' can eventually lead to the destruction of a relationship.

Rating/Dating Couples

This game is a little more cruel. It entails someone trying to have the advantage in the relationship, or someone trying to completely control the relationship. Something that happens often nowadays that could be this game is when two people are talking and they avoid each other in person or try to make one another jealous. Say a girl went to a party and started dancing on a random guy hoping the guy she was talking to saw, so she could have the advantage over him. Or say a guy leaves a girl on read to feel he has the control over the conversation. This game can get pretty tricky and it only makes the relationships grow farther apart.

Superficiality

This is probably the most common game in today's society, This game is when someone doesn't open up to another person who has opened up to them. Instead, this person shares superficial information in their conversations and refuses to self-disclose. This person is not lying, but they are withholding information. This can be seen when a girl or guy is talking to multiple people at once and only reveals basic things about themselves while the people they are talking to are fully invested. Superficiality leads to many broken hearts and quickly ends relationships.

Dating is already hard. These three games add more confusion and challenges to the dating world, and hurt a lot of relationships. The best way to fix it is to try not to play...if no one is playing, the game is over.