Dear Abby: To talk or to text?

[cereta]

DEAR ABBY: There is a boy I like at school. He is a very well-known person around school. I'm not. I do have a wide variety of friends, and I even talk to some of his.

My friends know I like him, and they would like for me to talk to him. I wouldn't mind that, but what would I say? They want it to happen in person, but I want to do it by text, where I feel more me. What should I do? -- TENNESSEE TEEN

DEAR TEEN: Listen to your friends and approach him in person. A smile and a hello should break the ice. Then follow it up with a question about some activity that's happening at school.

Comments

[xenacryst]

I'd say that an initial text of "hey, wanna hang out and get some coffee*?" would be fine as an icebreaker, but if you want to get to KNOW know the guy, do so in person - hence the suggestion for hanging out together somewhere.

I'll also note that a phrasing (however it translates to text) of "You seem like a cool person and I'd like to get to know you" can easily, by either party, be interpreted as either "hey I want to be friends" or "I have a crush on you" with minimal expectations. As in, it gives both parties an easy way to assess the situation and escalate to coupledom or stay as cool friends.

* Or maybe not coffee, exactly. Soda? Ice cream? What do teens use as an excuse to spend physical time together these days? Hanging out at the burger joint?