Friendly vs. Flirting

I think this might be an age old question that I have often experienced in my 24 years of life...

Where (or is it What?) is the line between being friendly and being flirty?

I know I can never tell.

 

i just had a fight with my boyfriend about this.

he thinks hes just really friendly to everyone. but i say he flirts with girls. and it shits me.

 

So what do you think the line is? What happens so that it's flirty instead of friendly?

 

If I touch somone a lot, like grabbing their arm when they say something funny I am flirting. Otherwise I am just being nice.

 

I can never tell either... My friends keep telling me I'm always really flirty but really I'm just being nice and friendly.

 

I'm both flirty and friendly. I cannot help it.

Unless I got something on my mind, then I'm just pensive.

 

But WHERE'S THE LINE, PEOPLE???

 

The line is too personal to depict.

Every person has their limits, know them on a person to person basis.

 

yeh, there's no real line. i guess it depends on what your relationship is with someone, how secure you feel in that relationship. most times, it seems to me, the more attractive someone is, the more their friendliness will be (perhaps wishfully) considered flirting. i was never one to really touch people, was never comfortable with hugs and things like that. but i could tell that when i was being friendly to someone who was attracted to me, their response to my friendliness was as if i was flirting. i smiled and joked a lot with just about anyone. only when the man or woman in question had perhaps a history of infidelity, or if their partner was insecure, did their partner ever react like i was "trying to steal their man/woman." but, usually, over time, once they got to know me, all concerns of that sort evaporated.

 

The line you refer to is not a fixed point, It waivers back and forth, up and down.

We can only rely on others, our experience, and our instincts to tell us when we've crossed that line.


Hotwater

 

I never know where that line is with others...

Myself, I know...others I do not.

 

Discernment or perception of this line is a key social skill.
the line is mutable

 

I have no social skills :-/

 

When his wiener or her nipple has made an appearance, then you've definitely crossed over that line.

 

I don't even see the problem with flirting to begin with. I mean I tend to see a difference between flirting and actually trying to get involved with someone. The line is really a personal one, and I almost think that's the point, sort of suggesting something salacious without coming out and saying it. When theres an existing relationship involved, it just comes down to trust. I always wonder how good a relationship actually is if one partner is seriously questioning whether the other will be faithful.

 

i think teasing is flirting

 

i guess it would depend on the type of teasing.