Now I know it’s not just me who is guilty in some way, shape, or form; he ignores me, and I instantly like him more. Nothing is hotter than a guy who acts like he could not give three ducks about me. My friends would tell me this is a red flag. While they are minor, they are red flags nonetheless. He only snapchats me at night, and he hangs out with a different girl every Friday. Yet, nothing is more alluring. Why do these minor red flags draw me in like a moth to a flame?
Now, this is what I like to call the “Red Flag Epidemic.” My only source to confirm my hypothesis that girls – albeit not all girls – like minor red flags is TikTok, but I’m convinced that it’s true. And so, I went scrolling on TikTok looking for answers.
Someone would pose the question and ask passers-by: “What’s a red flag in a guy that turns you on?” Honestly, most of the answers didn’t surprise me in the least. Some of the more popular responses were aggressively overprotective, overly flirtatious with other girls, bullying (if not malicious), too cocky, and when he doesn’t want you as bad as you want him.
Why are we going for these red flags when there are guys out there who are not like that at all? Why aren’t we looking for more “green” flags in men?
I did some more “research,” if you will, and thought about my favorite book, movie, and TV men. I found a lot of commonalities with the list I mentioned above. Media has a huge influence on our generation and today’s societal standards. I believe that the depictions of men with these red flags in movies and TV where they subsequently “get the girl” may be one of the contributing factors to my self-proclaimed epidemic. With that being said, maybe it’s just the age-old notion that girls like “bad” boys. Either way, we need to stop romanticizing red flags and going for more green flag guys. TikTok, let’s instead pose this question: “What’s a green flag in a guy that turns you on?”