I understand that it’s fun to play hard to get and it makes you feel kind of cool. Having someone hung up on you and keeping them waiting on your text, if you’re even going to text them back does wonders for your self-esteem. You feel better about yourself by bringing somebody else down a peg.

I’m tired of my friends pulling their hair out over some punk who can’t get off his butt long enough to let them know if the plans they made earlier in the week are still happening; if he still wants to hang out. It’s a different story if you decide you’re not interested in somebody anymore, but what’s not okay is stringing somebody along because you like how it feels having someone pine after you. It sucks to see your beautiful, smart, amazing friends get so discouraged over some guy ignoring them when they thought they had a shot with him. To all guys over the age of 20: It’s not cute anymore to act like this. The fact of the matter is no matter how attractive you are, how smart you are, or how much money you have, acting like this to girls our age is going to get you nowhere. We will respect guys who respect us and our time. Even if we are completely disinterested in a guy, we will respect him infinitely more than the guy we are hung up on that treats us like crap. Even if we like you; even if we think we may love you. Acting like a child is going to leave a bad taste in our mouths, and that’s going to be your last chance with us. If you play these games with us too long, we’re going to get tired of it fast and that’s going to be the end of your chances. Even if you change how you treat her, she’s always going to remember that guy who would make her feel special when they were hanging out but then would act like she didn’t exist when he passed her on campus.

Texting us once then ignoring our reply, hanging out with us then not speaking to us for 3 weeks, sporadically liking our Instagram pictures and sending us snapchats on the weekends only between the hours of 10 and 2 is not going to cut it anymore. Maybe you act rude because you think girls only go after rude guys. Honestly, nobody wants to hang around somebody who is rude and treats them poorly. Would you want to hang out with someone like that? Our fascination with the “rude” guy stems from their tendency to be slightly bored by trivialities. You think we like this type of guy because we like being treated badly. We don’t, we like guys who act like men and are too smart and cool to worry about what other people are thinking. Mysterious does not equal rude. You don’t have to ignore a girl’s texts to seem cool, or only talk to her when you want someone to hook up with. We can see straight through that, and it doesn’t exactly endear you to us. Treat us with respect, and we will return the favor. Ignoring someone on purpose isn’t a good look anymore, we’re too old for it.