Leave it to Sabrina Carpenter’s latest single to make the term “man-child” mainstream, especially in the dating world.
The term is pretty self-explanatory. It describes a man with childlike qualities: think emotionally immature men who most likely can’t be a supportive partner — everything a woman would most likely swipe left on while scrolling a dating app.
Luckily, dating app Hily relationship expert Dr. Marisa T. Cohen, PhD, shared with the Daily Mail the tell-tale signs to be on the lookout for if you’re either trying to avoid dating a man-child or wondering if you’re already committed to one.
One way to figure out a person’s emotional maturity is to pay attention to how they handle conflict in their life.
“Do they have some solid coping strategies? Or do they just kind of wing it?” Cohen said.
“Their answer can tell you a lot — like if they’re self-aware, whether they stick it out when things get rough, and how well they keep their cool (or not).”
Another indicator if a potential suitor is a man-child or not is if you can decipher whethey they did the work on themselves by going to therapy and learning tools to self-soothe.
By asking them about this, “You’ll get a sense of what they need, how they handle things, and maybe even how they deal with stress or think about mental health,” the expert explained to the outlet.
It’s also important to vet a person by asking about their accomplishments and what they’re most proud of.
“This two-parter is a super easy way to get the lowdown on your match,” Cohen said.
“You’ll hear about their big wins and how they handled any curveballs along the way.”
When talking about past relationships, rather than asking the basic questions like “When was your last relationship?” or “Why did you end things?” — instead ask what the person learned from them.
This milion dollar question will reveal a lot about a person.
“Basically, you’re seeing if they’ve taken time to reflect, process the ups and downs, and figure out how to do better next time,” the expert explained.
“It’s not about perfection — just about being real and ready to grow.”
Another indicator that a guy is immature is if he has this one specific line in his dating app.
When revealing his height upfront, if a guy’s dating app profile says “because apparently that matters” — run for the hills.
“They’re making a presumption about what all women want and painting us with the same passive-aggressive brush,” Cosmopolitan’s associate sex and relationships editor Kayla Kibbe said in a recent essay.
“The belief these men are responding to isn’t totally unfounded,” she conceded, “[but] the height standard to which many men seem to feel subjected is not one that was devised by women but rather one imposed on us all by internalized patriarchal beliefs.”
Yes, women oftentimes use height to filter out potential matches, experts warn that it could lead many to a life of loneliness.
Judith Gottesman, a matchmaker and dating coach, told The Post that “what matters is the connection you have and that you respect, trust and love each other.”
Read the full article here
