My middle school French teacher would always say, "Use the test to take the test." This meant that the answers to some of the questions — a conjugated verb here or a plural pronoun there — may have been written in other places on the exam. As a scheming earth sign, I think of this often when I'm cyber lurking on my crush. While scrolling through your boo's personal social media is more common, there are many types of virtual flirting, especially in ways you wouldn't expect. It seems like there's an app for everything these days, but what happens when we use apps in ways that they weren't intended for? Can we use Grubhub to find love?
Of course, let's first establish that every internet encounter is not flirting, and that having an internet presence, no matter how big or small, is not validation or allowance for people to cross boundaries or make you feel uncomfortable. Perhaps then, these ways of virtual flirting can also act as a reminder of traces we might not realize we're leaving on the world wide web, or maybe some inspiration for spicing up your phone-flirting game.
As an old soul, I would always suggest in-person communication, especially when talking about dating. Yet, my phone lives in my hand just like the rest of my generation, and I've come to think of these seven virtual moves that toe the line as both creepy and cute.
Venmo can actually provide you with deep insights into all your friends, and especially your crush. Looking at what they're buying and when, you may be able to tell if they're seeing someone, and you'll definitely be able to tell who they buy, ahem, other things, from.
Also you can "like" and "comment" on their transactions, which may be extra, but do you!
With Uber's Split Fare option, you ask your potential-boo to pay their way to wherever you are. Maybe you'll even find love in the Uber Pool. Perhaps you'll just send them a random split-request as a modern "Sorry texted the wrong number. Anyway, how are you?" Or maybe you could pull a, "I'm headed to dinner, you coming?"
This one is tricky because you need to know where they'll be at a given time, but sending your crush hot wings or Pad Thai could definitely be the way to their heart. Maybe sending to their office is less invasive?
I did not have a LinkedIn until like a month ago and the people I crush on honestly don't even have cell phones. But if you're a young professional and you say things like "industry" or "consulting," LinkedIn may be your way into your boo's heart. You can drop a "Congrats!" for a new job, or see where they interned.
OK, so this one I have personal history with and have paid the $2.99 to add someone's chart.
Co—Star is one of my fav astrology apps because it's run like social media and enables you to connect with others. With NASA and AI technology, it gives pretty intense reads of you, and your compatibility with others.
My senior year of college, I was the Features editor for our campus newspaper and worked closely with the web and data-visualization teams. Our staff used Slack to communicate, but my crush and I had our own channel, which mainly contained gifs, and sometimes ideas for infographics.
From my phone to yours, here are six ways to flirt beyond Tinder (Although, TBH — dating apps are probably the easier way to go.) Again, if someone is making you uncomfy via unwanted internet interaction or attention, block, cut off, and by all means, shut it down. Also, keep in mind that if your crush does respond to you, it isn't necessarily an indication they want to be more than friends. Try talking to them IRL and opening the lines of face to face communication, and you may just end up splitting that Uber, and some late night Grubhub.
