Recently a man dumped my friend because he said he liked her too much, says dating columnist Annie Lord in Vogue. As excuses go, this is “complete bullshit” – “Why would you not want something that would make you much happier?” In a break-up, however, maybe lying is the best way forward.
What would he have said if he was being honest? Best-case scenario, she “wasn’t his type”. The truth is, “most of the time the guy’s probably ending it because he wants to get with other people”. That, or he’s already found “a better option”. You don’t need to know you’ve been traded in for a girl “with glossy hair [and] one of those lines running through her stomach dividing up her abs”. And it’s not exclusive to men: “I reckon women lie like this just as much.” So thank God for the liars – they’re the kindest lot of all.
Out of site, not out of mind
When I was younger I would stalk everyone I dated on Instagram, says Logan Magan in the lifestyle website InsideHook. I could “show them off to all my friends”. But what if someone has no social media presence at all?
“A man with no social presence does raise a few flags at first. Who is he hiding?” But social media tells you next to nothing about a person beyond a few “bad selfies”. These days, I actively seek out people who are social media-free – “a little mystique can be intriguing”. After all, “the thought of someone having the willpower – or indifference – to stay off social media is respectable”. Not to mention “kind of hot”.