Challenge This: Why guys play games.

FIRSTLY, LET ME EXPLAIN MYSELF:

"What the hell prompted this kid to do this?", you might ask....Well, as a growing male I have noticed a trend among the sexes, especially in terms of dating. There are certain things that I (and other guys) take issue with. The problem is, there are things that women take issue with too. Both of these tend to sit there and boil with no one addressing them. What often happens as a result is a war between the sexes all over social media, the news, and even in politics, which helps NO ONE understand EITHER SEX. So let me cut the crap and get to the point: Every week I'll be posting an idea, and I would like to see how everyone on GAG reacts to it (PLEASE KEEP EVERYTHING RESPECTFUL IN THE COMMENTS). I honestly want to see what both sides have to say about things......and to trigger you as best as possible (¬‿¬).

OK LET'S DISTURB THE PEACE: WHY THE HELL DO GUYS PLAY GAMES?

Simple. We play games due to one of two reasons.

Reason One: We are unfortunate and pathetic beta males who think "playing hard to get" is the answer.

Let's not be biased and address things as they are: yes, there are guys who play this game because they think that EVERY GIRL THEY SEE is (secretly) in love with them from the moment they LOOK at them (which is flipping creepy and is just NOT the case). These types are the types that often have "studied psychology for many years" or "can approach any girl and get their number within five minutes". These are also the types that you can often bet only have online friends and can be caught beating off to crappy porn in their mom's basement (IF THIS IS ACTUALLY YOU I'M ONLY JOKING CALM DOWN LOL).

Reason Two: We play games because we know YOU (girls) will play them too.

Now I am no therapist, nor am I a psychologist, psychiatrist, or ANYTHING like that. However, I have had lots of female friends (including my own sister) vent to me about things like this and, after a couple of relationships that I have had myself, I fell into the habit of playing "games". Now I don't only mean the things like "Well she texted me like 5 minutes after I texted her, so I'm going to text her back like 7 minutes later" or any of that crap. I mean things like generally not being forthcoming, answering your question with a question, "being too busy", forcing your hand so that YOU text first, etc. In essence, doing things that "make girls chase". The reason behind this is because guys nowadays get so much SH*T if we don't do these things. You know how many times I've been told by girls that they flake a date just because they were irritated at "something he did the other day"? You know how many times I've asked a girl "Would you date (insert guy's name here)?", and she responds with a no, EVEN IF THEY CLEARLY HAVE SOMETHING? I've had guy friends that tell me that they dump a girl because they are "done with her" and girls get mad at it but....there are a dumb amount of times that roles are reversed. Hell, if you were to ask most girls, they would say that they want to be treated like human beings, not just pieces of meat, but most girls treat guys like they are complete Neanderthals who only want sex. So what do girls do to "test" whether or not he really likes her? They do stupid things like: never initiating a conversation, researching how to make him "earn" her, hugging him tight one day but give him the cold shoulder another, telling him that she wants to be friends but then does a 180 degree turn and essentially treats him like they're dating(even while she has a boyfriend), and etc. They make HIM chase. What this often results in is awkward situations at home, school, and/or work, people getting hurt, closing yourself off from dating or socializing in general and in turn, missing out on the wonderful people out there who would love to meet someone like you (whether it's for friendship or something more). While this may seem a bit extreme I have spoken to A LOT of people and found these patterns to be a lot more consistent than they might be at first glance. Now I'd like to propose an answer to this conundrum to BOTH sexes, and I want to see what you guys make of it:

BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF!

Let's face it, neither side is a bunch of little angels. If a girl doesn't like a guy, she has the option of letting him down, or stringing him along. A lot more girls choose the latter option, more than I'm proud to mention. You'd think most girls wouldn't be mean, and just let the dude down but NO. That isn't the case. Let me put this in perspective for everyone: PEOPLE LIKE IT WHEN OTHERS ARE SEXUALLY ATTRACTED TO THEM, THIS is often why people (especially guys) think that anyone who so much as LOOKS as them is ATTRACTED to them. THIS is often why you see guys lead girls on, only to tell them that they were only interested in their best friend this entire time. THIS is why you see guys rolling over for girls that OBVIOUSLY DON'T LIKE THEM, yet these guys still stick to girls like trained flipping puppies. If you are a guy, be honest with yourself and ask:

- Does this girl really like me?

- Do I really like this girl?

- Can I see myself in a relationship with her?

- Can I see myself actually having sex with her?

- Do I KNOW her? (yes, in the basic sense AND the philosophical sense, trust me I've heard some weeeeeiiiiiird shet).

- Do I just like the attention or am I really being nice? (Most times you are just screwing yourself over).

- Am I having fun around this girl or am I just in it for the sex?

- Does she seem happy to talk to me or is she faking it? (Trust me, if you HAVE to ask this one, she is probably faking it).

AND DON'T THINK YOU GIRLS ARE EXEMPT EITHER. IF YOU ARE A GIRL, BE HONEST AND ASK:

- Does this guy really like me?

- Am I just in it for the attention?

- Is he funny? Does he make me laugh? Do I actually like hanging around him?

- Am I attracted to him in any way?

- Can I see myself dating him?

- Does he KNOW me? (again....trust me I've heard some weird shet).

- Can I be happy with him (as a friend or otherwise)?

- Do I WANT to be friends with him or am I just saying it?

Now I get it, it's hard to be unbiased, even if you put in 100% effort, and this myTake is stupidly longer than it was originally supposed to be. But things don't always turn out as expected do they? But enough of my crappy jokes: point is, don't waste your time on people that you don't want to be around. Don't play games with people and expect not to be played with. Dating has become like chess, in the sense that you have to learn "rules" and "cues" and "hints" in order to become good at it. This isn't the World Chess Championship, people. We are talking about relationships between fellow humans, and unless we cut the crap and be honest with one another, we will be looking at a world with much more complicated relations down the line.

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(I'd like to close by asking (PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEEEEEEASSSEE) if there are any improvements that I should make over the course of the next few weeks, as this IS my first myTake, and I want people to engage in conversation as much as I possibly can.)