I would like to thank Simon for the inspiration to write this post and I dedicate it to you, you are truly a player at heart.
Players are people that use online dating sites to arrange a string of casual encounters, they are simply sexual predators looking for their latest power trip and online dating sites offer a wide range and number of potential victims.
After a few bad experiences and a lot of heartache I now enjoy playing ‘spot the players’ on dating websites, so it’s a strange hobby but after all some people like train spotting don’t they?!
Do not confuse a player with people who simply enjoy casual sex, players are called players for a reason, it’s all a game to them.
Just to give you an idea of how sick and twisted these people can be, a few years ago when I first joined a dating site I immediately received a message from a lady which said “just to warn you, as you are definately his type, this guy “username” is a player on this site. After he had finished with me recently he actually sent a critique with an overall score out of 10 and a list of ladies on the same site, along with their scores, to make comparisons with. It was a detailed report including my dress, makeup, table manners and of course sexual performance. The cheeky git even added some tips for how I can improve my game. As awful as it is to admit this I just wanted to warn you”.
She and I are still friends to this day and sure enough after a few weeks on the site I got my first message from him telling me he was just about to give up on the site when he spotted my profile. I already knew, because of the warning, that he had been a member of the site for over 4 years and sent the same message to every women he went after but had I not have been warned imagine how special that would have made me feel (especially as he had used a photo of a male model from Canada on his profile and whilst I am certainly attractive I am not model material by any stretch of the imagination).
Players can be single, in a relationship or married but they are all looking for one thing, the next challenge and sexual encounter. Modern times now see an increasing number of female players in a game that was traditionally thought of as exclusively male.
Generally when you first join a new dating site you will very quickly be approached by the honest “looking for a casual sexual encounter” gang. They will send you a message saying they like your profile photo and asking if you fancy meeting up for a hot night or weekend.
These people don’t trouble me at all as 99 times out of 100 they accept no for an answer. A simple reply saying “sorry that’s not what I am looking for” results in never hearing from them again or a polite reply saying ” thanks for the reply and I hope you find what you are looking for”. These people I can respect, I may not wish to live their lifestyle but they are honest, polite and genuine.
Players are also not the sleazebag brigade. These are the guys and girls that send you sexually explicit, rather nauseating first messages, including their instant messaging details so you can have cyber sex or an unsolicited message saying “liked your profile, blah blah blah, I have attached a photo of myself.
Basically this behaviour is the equivalent of that letch you saw in the supermarket car park last week that told you what a nice attractive bottom you have and what they would like to do to your bottom (but not in those words). Treat the online equivalent with the same contempt and do not respond to them and DO NOT open the attachment, this just feeds their desire to shock. Some people like this sort of thing from a total stranger so leave them to respond.
No, real players are skilled at their game, they are experienced hunters looking for their next victim. They bide their time and take weeks or even months if necessary to get to know you. They will say all the right things at just the right times ….. well they should be good at it, they get enough practice.
As they talk to you over time they will probably mention some woman/man on the site that is ‘stalking’ them, this is a flashing red light. What this actually means is that the ‘stalker’ is in fact a previous victim they are continuing to string along.
Unlike people that just enjoy casual sex and then move on, players see their victims as their personal trophy and keep these people hanging on as a symbol of their popularity and skill at the game. In their mind of course there is always the remote possibility they will have a bad weekend without a new victim and may need to call in one of the old ones.
Remember for them it is a game, they are an actor playing the part of James Bond or Marilyn Monroe and will shower you with romance, compliments and be everything you want and need for them to be. For them there is no cheap dirty hotel or fish and chips on the pier, only the best will do and the men will provide it for you and the women will insist on it if you are getting anywhere near their g-string.
Think of these people as trophy hunters, they get their prey in their sights and will go to bizarre lengths to attain their goal. Once they have metaphorically ‘shot’ you they have no further interest and will move on to the next victim. The sad part is that the first night or weekend you spend together really is special, they are everything you thought they would be but for them the thrill of the game is now over.
However they will not tell you they are no longer interested, so you will get messages like:
- The ex wife/husband is causing trouble and they don’t want that to interfere in your relationship so can you give them some time to sort their ex out and then you can get back to where you left off.
- They have a sick parent/child/pet that needs to be cared for for a while but as soon as they are better the two of you will go away for a holiday to make up for the lost time.
- Work is manic, a new project is going badly and they have to go away to sort it out for a while but will keep in touch by email and text.
Their reasons for the cool down are always ‘honourable’ and designed to keep you poised to come running when they next click their fingers. It is simply a power trip for them and nothing more, they have invested time and energy into you and are not going to give you up that easily.
These guys know what they are doing, they have been at this game for years in most cases and the internet supplies a constantly renewed source of potential victims.
Players tactics include but are not limited to:
- the “I am going to leave the site but thought I would just say hi” line – this is designed to make you respond quickly and feel special when they stick around to get to know you. Now ask yourself why they have been a member for X number of years and just decided to leave the site now.
- the “I am fed up with the dating game and am going to take a break but would love for us to be friends” line, coupled with their little harem of stalkers of course – ask yourself why Mr/Miss Smooth & Popular wants to be just friends with a total stranger of the opposite sex on a dating site. This is to make you think they aren’t just after sex.
- Offers of helping you find the right guy/girl because he/she talks to lots of men/women on the site (just as friends of course) and so knows who the players are and can help you avoid them – again designed to make you trust them and believe they aren’t after a quick fling.
- Asks too many questions about you and your emotions and their replies to your answers go into great detail about how and why they feel the same way. They are using empathy to get you on side, if you have asthma then so do they, if you suffer from depression then they have post traumatic stress disorder, if you have been emotionally hurt then their ex ran off with their best friend, etc.
- Players will make declarations of growing attachment and emotion very quickly and use nauseating terms like “you are my soul mate” or “I have waited all my life for my perfect partner and here you are”. This can often be before they have even spoken to you on the phone. They are playing into your hopes and dreams of meeting that special someone.
The difficulty in spotting them is that they seem so sincere and the reason is because they are. They are in fact in love ….. however not with you but with the game they are playing.
Now I can hear you saying “I would never fall for that, I’m not that stupid” but believe me a withering wallflower is not a great challenge to them, although it won’t stop them using them for practice but a confident savvy individual is just the challenge they are looking for.
These people know what they are doing, they have been at this game for years honing their skills. No doubt they began as clumsy amateurs but by now they are skilled professionals. Unless you have been a victim and so are wise to their game it is well worth a little research to understand what they want and how they operate in order to avoid falling into their game.
So how do you avoid turning down Mr/Miss Right for fear they may be a player? Very simple
- life is a compromise, every relationship whether it be romantic, friendship or with family can only be successful if you all compromise. The compromise may be over something seemingly insignificant like preference for sun over snow holidays, red over white wine or taste in music but somewhere in getting to know them you should say to yourself “well I prefer …. but I can compromise on that”. If you meet someone on a dating site that is just so perfect for you there simply is no reason to compromise on anything then run like hell for the hills, they are a player.
- Mr/Miss Right will be very human. They will have a hair out of place, tell a bad joke, snort when they laugh or drop their fork during dinner. Not so the player, they calculate every move and never put a foot wrong.
- Mr/Miss Right will be interested in your friends and family, they will remember that you prefer white to red wine and will ask your opinions (remembering the answers). For players dating is all about them and only them.
- A player is very reluctant to make firm plans for the future, I don’t mean getting married type plans but a concert next month or attending a birthday party in September, if they make plans with you then they may miss a better offer. A player is also very unlikely to attend anything like a friends birthday party with you as they will not be the star attraction. Mr/Miss Right will be delighted when you invite them and make firm plans for the date.
- Real people will talk about their friends, not in a casual way but in a detailed personal way, whereas players have a little black book overflowing with acquaintances but very few meaningful close friends.
There is an excellent article by Pamela Bailey called Spotting the Player in the Online Dating Game over at associated content.
Here is an article on the Pleasures and Perils of dating a player.
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