Relationships
5 Sneaky Ways To Tell If Someone Likes You By The Way They Text You
by Tayi Sanusi

The dating conundrum that never seems to have a straight answer: Do they actually like me? We all know what it's like to spend hours ruminating over whether or not the person you're into likes you back, and once you start texting, seeking a definitive answer to this question feels more pressing than ever. Knowing how to tell if their texts mean something might not actually be as hard as you think. And while plenty of people play games to throw you off the trail of how they're really feeling, these types of people typically turn out not to be the best partners, if they can even manage to drop the act long enough for a relationship to actually develop. My advice is to stick to people that don't take a week to respond to a simple, "Hey there! How's it going?" text.

Usually, when someone has genuine interest in you, there's a pretty good chance that their texting behavior might just give them away. It's totally natural for some level of push-and-pull to be expected, so there's nothing wrong with messaging them organically when they cross your mind — especially if they have been the one to reach out to you the last couple of times. In the meantime, keep an eye out for these five texting behaviors that could mean they are totally into you.

01They Respond Fairly Quickly

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Of course we all have a lot going on in our lives, but when someone likes you, they don't keep you waiting for too long! If they get back to an initial message within a couple of hours and can easily get into a back-and-forth messaging rhythm, this is definitely a good sign.

If, however, their texting responsiveness continually falls short, then this might mean their interest level isn't as high as it could be.

"When someone doesn’t respond in a timely manner and disappears during the text layer of the relationship, they create a lot of anxiety and hurt feelings," relationship expert and founder of Relationship Advice Forum April Masini told Elite Daily.

Someone who likes you should be excited to hear from you and anxious to respond.

02They Frequently Initiate Text Convos

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"There are people who are more comfortable behind a screen than they are in person," Masini explained. And while this might not be true of everyone, for the most part, if they like you and aren't super shy via text, then they will likely be initiating conversations.

Brownie points for them if their topics of conversation are ones that you find interesting and engaging.

03They Use Emojis, Seem Enthusiastic, And Don't Send One Word Responses

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While there are some people that just don’t come across as witty and charming via text, this doesn’t mean that they aren’t into you. But emojis and enthusiasm in word choice is typically how someone communicates when they are enjoying a dialogue. I find it hard to believe that anyone, at this point, would think a one word answer is anything other than a conversation killer.

04They Ask You Questions

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Posing open-ended questions is pretty much a guarantee that at the very least they have an interest in getting to know more about you, and this is a good thing! Constantly being the one to ask the questions gets v tiresome, v fast.

05They Drop Hints About Things You Could Do Together

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This is a biggie. While texting is all fine and dandy, at the end of the day you both know that preliminary texting convos are hopefully leading up to going on an actual date. Having someone to talk to via text is great, but spending time face-to-face is an absolute must. Directly asking someone out isn’t the easiest thing for the majority of people, but if they can’t even hint at letting you know their interest goes further than being virtual pen pals, then this could be a problem.

While it may be tempting to overanalyze every word of your crush's texts, try to keep in mind that in the grand scheme of things, this is a very limited amount of information to go off of. The biggest, most fail proof tip-off that they like you enough to get to know you is making concrete plans to hang out and see where things go. Even if they tell you they like you directly, if they are apprehensive about meeting up, then bye! Find someone that will make an effort to take you out on a real date.

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