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Context: I’m 19 and completely inexperienced when it comes to dating. Two days ago, my friend, her boyfriend, and I were supposed to go see Backrooms together, but one of the boyfriend’s friends joined us last minute. This guy insisted on paying for my movie ticket, snacks, dinner afterward, and even 3 books when we stopped at a bookstore, and then he drove me home. After the movie, I mentioned that I wanted to see Obsession next because, in my mind, they’re kind of sister movies, and he said we should go see it together, which we did yesterday. He acted the exact same way then too. He’s also going fishing on Sunday, and I’m going with him. I’ve never had a guy act like this toward me before, so I honestly don’t know what to make of it. But I really love it, and I can’t stop thinking about him.

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[-] CultLeader4Hire@lemmy.world 5 points 2 hours ago

Feels like a love bomb to me

[-] grte@lemmy.ca 65 points 1 day ago

Sounds like you're dating already.

[-] Doublenut@lemmy.zip 90 points 1 day ago

This beyond showing interest. You may be unaware but you are dating. You went on a movie date. You're going on a fishing date on Sunday. That's dating, we've just forgotten what that is as like a society.

[-] pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 11 hours ago

Oh, interesting. I do stuff like this with my friend too

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 1 hour ago

I've unironically called a day with a friend a "date" before because it was one of the first times it was just the two of us and the things we did seemed date like. Despite him being straight and me being married. It was sort of a joke, but still, it definitely felt like a date. He laughed when I called it this.

[-] Doublenut@lemmy.zip 3 points 3 hours ago

Sure, but she implied that these two just met. I may treat a friend the same way but I wouldn't court a friend in the same way.

[-] schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works 27 points 1 day ago

Hard to be sure he's interested without an app. /s

[-] 87Six@lemmy.zip 142 points 1 day ago

Fellas, this proves we're not the only dumb ones when it comes to noticing someone is into us.

Yea he's into you. Either that or he's trying to get into your pants really quickly. Up to you to figure that out, whether he just wants to fuck or if he wants an actual nice relationship.

[-] qaeta@lemmy.ca 5 points 13 hours ago

Yeah, I'd be careful with this one. It's pretty love-bomby, which at this stage in my life just stands out as a red flag.

That said, you're both young, so he may be legit and just not learned how to not be over the top when into someone lol.

[-] grinning_serpent@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

It's dumb young puppy love behavior. It's adorable. No need to be so cynical about it. If these kids were ten years older then yeah I'd call it love bombing.

[-] 87Six@lemmy.zip 3 points 7 hours ago

Yea doing all that after seeing a girl for about 2 days is a red flag to me too. I mean, it's typical for their age but to me it's still a sign of hella immaturity and perhaps even shallowness.

[-] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Presuming they're both ~19, I'm going with potentially <-> likely uh, all of the above, + completely terrified.

First loves are... pretty confusing.

[-] starlinguk@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago

And whether she actually likes him.

[-] 87Six@lemmy.zip 22 points 1 day ago

I can’t stop thinking about him.

Her thinking this is one thing but saying it is fully different. She's into him too for sure.

[-] starlinguk@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

I can't stop thinking about my neighbour, but that's because she's the most obnoxious woman I've ever met.

[-] 87Six@lemmy.zip 8 points 1 day ago

yea ig context matters

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[-] MilitantAtheist@lemmy.world 54 points 1 day ago

Lots of people taking about red flags and shit.

Just talk to him. Be honest with what you feel and ask what he's thinking and where he sees your friendship/relationship/feeling going.

Don't listen to people online who have no idea about your specific situation.

[-] Typotyper@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 day ago

This

Honest Communication and having boundaries defined in your head. When you guys come up to one of your boundaries then have a conversation.

But remember, "No" is a complete sentence. No explanations are necessary.

[-] NotAnonymousAtAll@feddit.org 13 points 1 day ago

Gender swapped, but still appropriate for the topic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa-4IAR_9Yw

[-] DagwoodIII@piefed.social 79 points 1 day ago

He's nuts about you.

I am a former 19 year old man. Trust me.

[-] Signtist@bookwyr.me 41 points 1 day ago

Yeah, I don't really understand all these people talking about how it's unusual. When I was a teenager and I liked a girl, I'd do everything I could to impress her.

"Oh, you said in passing you like this candy? I'll get you a whole box! Oh, you reminisced about having a furby? I scoured every thrift store in the area to find this one for you! You want to buy this thing? Let me do it! I can do it!"

It's definitely way too much, to the point where it's probably creepy, but that's just how the teenage brain works. They understand enough to know how to show you care, but they don't understand enough to know that too much of a good thing can be bad.

[-] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 day ago

When I was a teenager and I liked a girl, I'd do everything I could to impress her.

I can't even count the number of bands I was suddenly "into" because the woman I was interested in at the time mentioned them in passing. 😂

[-] ptu@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 hour ago

I was a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan because a girl sent me 1979.mp3 one night

[-] BarrelAgedBoredom@lemmy.zip 13 points 1 day ago

It's not that it's unusual, it's just that similar behavior is also an abusive tactic called love bombing. Imo, I think the kid is just being a bit awkward, but that doesn't mean this behavior isn't a problem. Like you said, it's (probably) just teenagers being teenagers, but I don't see anything wrong with pointing out how this can be a problem.

Like most situations, the best thing OP and friend can do is have a candid conversation about how they're feeling towards one another and figure out what they're both looking to get out of a relationship. Having been 19 myself, I doubt that conversation will happen in a way that is "correct", but at the very least she now knows that love bombing is a thing and that it's important to think about your own safety, wants, and needs

[-] FluorideMind@lemmy.world 26 points 1 day ago

Yes this is called showing interest.

[-] lando55@lemmy.zip 20 points 1 day ago

Courtship, even

[-] Contramuffin@lemmy.world 65 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Yes, he likes you.

I would be cautious, this sort of behavior is unusual, even for someone who likes you. The reason behind it is up for interpretation. In the most generous interpretation, he doesn't know how to act either and is attempting to hint that he likes you. In the most uncharitable interpretation, he is attempting to lovebomb someone who doesn't have the experience to recognize the red flag.

Either way, I would approach with caution, because you don't need to be malicious in order to be abusive. That is to say, abuse very rarely occur because someone is actively trying to manipulate you. Typically, it occurs because someone has an unrealistic expectation of how relationships work in practice, and this expectation biases their actions and judgment (funnily enough, Obsession is about this exact theme).

What this means is that inexperienced people are typically more likely to be abusive just by sheer virtue of not understanding what a relationship is like. I don't want to be overly negative - I want to be clear that it's possible that he's just also inexperienced and that he is wise enough to learn quickly.

If you want to interpret his actions charitably and if you want to give him a chance, then I would highly recommend you have a good conversation at the very beginning about your (and his) expectations of a relationship, both in the short term (ie, what do you expect the other person to do in x/y situation? Is there anything that the other person may do or may stop doing that would cause you to feel upset?) and in the long term (ie, do you have compatible life goals? Do you expect that you will have a long distance relationship at some point in the future? Would you be OK with that?). Don't be scared to talk about uncomfortable or shameful subjects - it's better to get these questions sorted now than to sort them out later, when shit has already hit the fan.

And, also be aware that because both of you are likely to be inexperienced, both of your expectations are almost certainly going to change over time, and so it will be a good idea to build a habit of checking in once in a while to see if those expectations have changed

One final but irrelevant advice: hold off on sexual intimacy. It's important to build a relationship around life habits rather than just sex. That, and people will typically be guarded when in a new relationship. It typically takes about 1 year of close contact before someone starts to lower their guard, and 2 years before someone fully shows who they are (this also happens to be why most relationships last 2 years). I guarantee, the worst thing you can ever do in a relationship is to have sexual contact with someone who turns it to be crazy. It's going to be hard to hold off, I get it. Been there, done that. But it's vitally important for the overall health of the relationship to not have sexual intimacy for at minimum 6 months, and ideally at least longer than a year

[-] nylo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 12 hours ago

jesus fucking christ 6 months?? are you an octogenarian or just a fundie?

most people would not be willing to wait that long in today's world, even the fundies will usually get married before that lmao

[-] protist@retrofed.com 21 points 1 day ago

No sex for at least 6 months to a year?! My god, let the kids live a little. As long as everyone is on the same page with expectations and practices safe sex, there's nothing wrong with having sex much earlier in a relationship.

[-] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 3 points 1 day ago

Yeah, fuck that. I'll wait a month or so if they want to get to know each other first and make sure I'm not crazy but much longer than that and I'm out. Everyone of my partners has been way more sexually aggressive at the begging of the relationship and then cooled off after a few months so they're basically advising everyone to skip the best part..

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[-] Beth@piefed.social 35 points 1 day ago

A lot of good advice in this thread for some very thoughtful people. OP I want you to practice setting some boundaries with this guy even if you like him and continue seeing him.

Tell him no about things sometimes. Like “no, I can buy that myself”. Make sure he respects your wishes about minor things and has even, level-headed emotionally mature reactions to your boundaries.

[-] derpgon@programming.dev 47 points 1 day ago

As a 30M European, I'd say red flag. Committing like this on a first "date" is kind of unusual. Buying tickets, snacks, and books while - derived from context - meeting for the first time.

I'd look out and watch closely, don't let shiny things blind you, and enjoy the moments.

[-] Foreigner@lemmy.world 33 points 1 day ago

Yeah it seems like this guy obviously likes OP but I'd watch out he isn't love bombing. Not saying it's what he's doing but I'd be wary if I were in OP's position.

[-] Kalothar@lemmy.ca 2 points 13 hours ago

Without going down the rabbit hole there, would this also cover the 19m just being overwhelmed by his emotions?

I have a friend who had a habit of doing this when we were younger when he liked a girl, but then never grew out of it. So I know it fit for him lol

[-] NABDad@lemmy.world 60 points 1 day ago

I just realized that I did this to my girlfriend in high school!

It's pretty clear. Everything fits. I just don't know what to do about it now.

I mean, we've been married for 33 years. Do we need to break up? The kids are grown and out of the house at this point, but I think they'd still be upset.

[-] Foreigner@lemmy.world 30 points 1 day ago

Delete Facebook, hit the gym, lawyer up?

But in all seriousness, being generous and effusive with a prospective partner is not an issue in itself. The problem is when it's used to manipulate someone into being "hooked" on you then go on to abuse that person. That's why multiple people here are saying to be wary, we're not saying to write him off outright.

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[-] makeshift0546@lemmy.today 34 points 1 day ago

Holy fuck this thread. It's amazing half of you have ever dated.

Yes he likes you. Holy fuck the screeches about red flags from nerds 🤣, seems to want impress you.

[-] nyctre@piefed.social 27 points 1 day ago

Remember this was movie + snacks + dinner + 3 books + drive home. That's 100€ at the low end, most likely 150-200 from a kid with no job. All for something that wasn't even a date. Call us whatever you want for finding it unusual, but yes, it is unusual.

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[-] c64z86@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

We're advising her to be cautious, not advising her to call the whole thing off. What's so wrong with that?

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[-] joranm1@lemmy.zip 14 points 1 day ago

Indeed he is trying to impress you, and spending his money may be a goofy way of telling you how he feels without the need to speak.

He may not know how to word things gracefully, keep in mind that it could be stressful for him as well.

Maybe at some point telling him that you can buy your own things, and that it is not the reason why you're spending time with him, could lead to a more constructive discussion... If you're not afraid to have it, that is

[-] qaeta@lemmy.ca 2 points 13 hours ago

Maybe at some point telling him that you can buy your own things, and that it is not the reason why you're spending time with him, could lead to a more constructive discussion... If you're not afraid to have it, that is

Yeah, plus his reaction to this would be pretty telling. If he takes it with grace then you're probably good. If he gets offended or upset at you expressing some autonomy and ability to take care of yourself, fucking RUN.

[-] DaanBanaan@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago

He likes you. Maybe wise to slow him down a bit and see how reacts on that. My 18 year old daughter had a thing with a boy who overwhelmed her with gifts and paying for everything. It made her feel a bit uncomfortable and when she told him he plaued the guilt card. She ended up dumping him.

[-] Mac@mander.xyz 19 points 1 day ago

I love it and i can't stop thinking about him

That's the point.

[-] PriorityMotif@lemmy.world 25 points 1 day ago

I wonder if your friends told him it was a blind date without telling you about it.

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this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2026
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