Is It The Death Of Chat Up Lines?

Long gone are the days when you can walk over to a guy or girl and deliver a line that Sean Connery would be proud of and make them swoon.

The best you’ll get today is maybe a chuckle or “sorry not this time, honey” look.

But why do people prefer one liners as a popular conversation starter?

Firstly, they are quite entertaining, more for being ironic than actually being effective. 

As much as most of us would like to say we prefer a simple, Hi, how are you doing? if we’re being honest we’d appreciate the funnier, “Are your legs tired? Because you’ve been running through my mind all day, just so we can have a laugh (at their expense unfortunately). 

We all know first impressions count and it can be hard to hold someone’s attention with a simple Hi, so a pick-up/chat line can work as a great icebreaker. 

But not everyone agrees. 26-year-old Amy, an entrepreneur from London, says: “Whenever I hear a pick-up line, I just don’t take them seriously, it shows a lack of confidence. They’ve probably said the same thing to so many other people and use it as a buffer instead of just being direct.”

We don’t like to admit to being taken in by a chat up line for the fear of coming across as gullible or easy but if they’re creative like these, it might just turn the tide. 

While chat up line’s may have died in popularity in face-to-face situations, they’re a firm favourite for those of us who date online. 

28 year old Annabelle, a personal trainer from London, says: “One of the hardest parts of dating on apps is you never know how to start the conversation. I will say, I’m more likely to respond to someone who has used a line or said something funny because it’s a starting point for us to carry on and there’s not too much pressure.”

Although, coming up with the perfect line does bring on the pressure for some. 21-year-old Matt, a graphic design student from London, says: “You want to be original because I’m pretty sure you’re getting nowhere if you use the oldie, Did you fall from heaven, because you look like an angel to me. I like to throw a bit of my personality in them, my favourite one is, Did you fart? Coz you just blew me away. Guaranteed to make them laugh.”

This makes us wonder, which line works better, funny or flirty?

Researchers carried out an experiment to find out what women’s impressions of men were using different pick - up lines to determine which type they preferred.

The different types of pick-up lines they tested: 

Flippant -  Do you have raisins? No? Well then, how about a date? 

Direct -  I saw you across the room and knew I had to meet you. What’s your name?

Harmless – You look really familiar. Have we taken a class together?

They found that women looking for a long-term relationship preferred direct or harmless lines, whereas women looking for something casual preferred attractive men, regardless of the pick-up line. 

The authors hypothesized that women looking for long-term partners view flippant pick-up lines as signs of low trustworthiness and intelligence. 

Whether you like them or not, it seems chat up lines aren't going anywhere especially if they're a popular way to break the ice, but whether they work is down to U and I. 

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All Gifs via Giphy