Hi Mike,
Thanks for reading and responding! I agree that in real life, a hi or a hey is completely natural. If some guy just walked right up to me at a bar and yelled, “What’s your favorite episode of Parks and Recreation??” without preamble, I’d be rather freaked out.
But on an app, where you can’t read a person’s body language, facial expressions and vocal tone, it’s harder to get out of the simple greeting place. When a guy messages me “hey,” responding is more of a gamble. I wonder how long it’ll take before we get to an interesting place… whereas, if he brings up a commonality or asks me something intriguing about my profile, I’m interested from message #1.
And I message first quite a bit! I’d say about half the time, depending upon when the match comes through (if I’m busy or free) and how interested I am in them.
