Men, Women, & the Games We Play
Boisterous Facebook statuses, sub-tweets on Twitter, texts answered hours later…these are some of the antics women and men submit to while dating. Though both parties have agreed to partake in dating one another there is a constant tug-of-war for clout in this phase of a relationship.
Do you think it’s necessary to ‘play games’ when it comes to dating?
“We can call it ‘playing games’ all we want but the reality is, life in general is one big game. ‘Playing games’ is necessary because you need to familiarize yourself with your opponent before you play your hand.” –Toke Toba, 22 years old, B.S. in Business Administration
“Depending on the person’s dating history, yeah I do. Sometimes games are played to see how long that person will stay around; experience the worst before they receive the best.” –Akeem Hill, 20 years old, Visual Arts major
These are good points; however it would be irresponsible to neglect the cons of game play. On top of finding someone that you are compatible with, have chemistry with, someone who doesn’t have too much baggage, is honest, and all the other things on peoples’ list for potential boy/girlfriends you have to throw ‘the game’ into the mix. You have to be able to decipher whether an ignored text or phone call is because he/she is trying to send you hints that he/she is not interested or perhaps they merely don’t want to seem too available. Is that a sub-tweet directed at you on Twitter or are you just making it up? Was his status, reading: “M.O.B.” (Money Over Bitch*s) directed at you and something you did or are you just over-thinking things?
“I do believe games are necessary. There are many people out there that are too quick when deciding what they want (a long-term relationship), however everyone does not move at such a fast pace. So in order to keep everyone on the same page sometimes you have to play a few games and dance around certain subjects until both parties involved are comfortable with moving forward.” -Katasha Watson, 20 years old, Psychology major
“Nope, games aren’t necessary. And besides, I only play games if they’re fun.” –Melissa Mayard, 22 years old, English+Africana Studies major
“I honestly do believe games are necessary because you don’t wanna give too much of yourself with no guarantee of a payoff.” –Nick Dorvil, 24 years old, Acting major
You might feel like games are necessary during the dating stage but just remember, you play these games not only to remain unfazed but also to head in the direction of a long lasting relationship. I think people easily remember the former; however the latter seems to often get lost in translation.
Written by J.R. Yussuf
