Am I doing this right?': how to master the lost art of flirting

"From his birds-eye position in the booth, DJ Rakish has noticed a blue light disco effect on the dancefloor when he plays at straightish nightclubs. If people aren't already in groups, you definitely see the boys hanging around together and the girls hanging around together, he says. There might be furtive glances here and there but, particularly with younger people, game just doesn't seem to exist at the moment."

"On the surface, it can kind of look like we're losing our social skills as a society, and that's not necessarily untrue, Laugeson says. There are manifold reasons for this decline, she says, from reliance on technology to the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. This doesn't mean people are less capable of flirting, it probably just means that they have fewer opportunities to practise those face-to-face, IRL romantic skills."

"MJ, a Melbourne woman in her early 40s, is experiencing this first-hand. She's currently using dating apps and says it's bleak out there, I tell you. I'm definitely better in person when it comes to flirting. And that's why it's kind of sad that the apps are the main way for people to meet each other these days, because you don't have that room to flirt. You can have a little bit of text banter, but it's just not the same."

Clubbing environments often show men and women clustering separately with minimal casual flirting, especially among younger attendees. Reduced face-to-face romantic interactions have coincided with increasing reliance on dating apps and prolonged social isolation from the Covid-19 pandemic. Many singles now pursue alternative ways to meet, including speed dating, exercise groups, sport leagues, and themed flirting parties. Text-based banter on apps often lacks the spontaneous cues and atmosphere of in-person flirting. Despite fewer opportunities to practise IRL romantic skills, deliberate effort and practice can restore conversational confidence and rebuild casual flirting abilities.

Read at www.theguardian.com