I am 18 years old and I have never made the first move. I decided it was time to change that. And what better way than to have a little fun with it and get an article out of it?!? So, I went back through every conversation I have had on Tinder for the past nine months and picked out some of the best and worst first messages I had been sent. I used 12 of the messages that guys had sent me and decided to see if they worked in reverse!
I decided it's my turn to make the first move.
So, here are the messages I sent and what they replied.
1. "Heyy"
By the way, this needs at least two y's.
Responses: "Heyyy!" "Do you think a hot dog is a sandwich?"
Only one didn't respond, seems like a success to me!
2. "Yooo"
Why did I ever respond to this?
3/3 did not respond. 0/10 do not recommend.
3. *GIF*
I chose flirty yet cheesy ones.
2/2 did not respond. I'm thinking GIFs just don't elicit a response.
4. "cool"
Once again, why did I respond?
Responses: "What?" "You're cool"
Only one didn't respond, but I still don't recommend this!
5. "Hey, can I tie your shoes? I don't want you falling for anyone else."
Response: "Deal"
I definitely sent this to more people, so they must've unmatched with me. I thought it was a good one, but maybe it's a little strong...
6. "At first I was afraid."
This continues on with the lyrics to I Will Survive.
Response: "Nothing to be afraid of, I don't bite.."
One didn't respond. As creative as it is, this will only attract some.
7. "*Cheesy pickup line*"
This is for lazy people, but I am definitely in that club.
3/3 did not reply. Guys do not appreciate this laziness.
8. "I might as well call you Google because you're everything I'm searching for."
Responses: "Not too shabby"
There was one other response but it was a little too R-rated for me to type out.
This line got responses from everyone it was sent to! Unless others unmatched me...
9. "Typically I go for eights but I guess in this case I could settle for a perfect 10."
Responses: "Awe now I'm blushing" "So since I'm at 7"
It's definitely not a bad line. I don't think it really makes sense because a 10 obviously isn't settling, but it seemed to work!
10. "You're a babe."
One person responded and one didn't, but the response was, once again, R-rated.
Tip: know what kind of response you're hoping for and choose your opener based off of that.
11. "Sooo"
This one is really basic and confusing and I'm not sure if there was supposed to be more to it because I never replied to the guy, whoops.
4/4 did not reply. This shows that guys feel the exact same way about this line as I did.
12. "Are you made of copper and tellurium? Becuase you're CuTe."
(This is definitely my favorite considering I'm a science nerd. Science puns will get me every time.)
Response: "If I was an enzyme, I'd be DNA helicase so I could unzip your genes."
Two people didn't respond, but I still think this is a great line. Just know your audience.
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All in all, I think it was a really good experience for me to message guys first. It really made me feel like I was in control of the conversation. Also, I'm sure the guys appreciated it, too. Maybe sometimes they want to be the ones chased. Either way, take control of your dating life and get the courage to make the first move. I promise it's not as scary as it seems.
