A friend of mine recently received a picture from a guy “friend”. “Friend” was damn near nekkid in a hot tub. She screenshotted it, sent it to me and exclaimed “What the FUCK is this?”
That, my friend, is a thirst trap.
A whatnow? Thirst trap. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, please refer to the UD definition below.
A sexy photograph or flirty message posted on social media for the intent of causing others to publicly profess their attraction. This is done not to actually respond or satisfy any of this attraction, but to feed the posters ego or need for attention, at the expense of the time, reputation and sexual frustration of those who view the image or reply.“Hey guys, are these shorts too tight?”
“Screw off with your thirst trap.”
How to recognize a Thirst Trap
Traps like these aren’t always as obvious as you think they are. Yes, these are pictures posted mostly to just feed the poster’s ego and often feature as little clothes as possible, quite often a closeup of bodyparts. You know, abs, ass, the usual. Then there’s the captions. Either none, all emoji, or they’re on some fake deep inspiration quotes that have absolutely nothing to do with the pic.
How to respond to a Thirst Trap
This one’s easy. Don’t. If you are in any way, shape or form inclined to respond, do the following: put your phone down. Get up. Walk to the kitchen. Pour yourself a glass of water. Drink it all. Wit’cho thirsty ass. It’s 2018. We’re no longer endorsing en otherwise encouraging thirst trapping behavior.
Now, this is easy if it’s a post on social media. If it’s a private chat, this can be tricky. My favorite thing is bringing up something random I see in the background. “That’s a nice color wallpaper you got there.” Or make little comments that kind of deal with their half-nekkidness, but not really. “You think you forgot something there?” or “Laundry day?” Or just full-blown “Come one man, ain’t nobody tryna see that.”
That’s it. That’s all you gotta know.
Unless…
You ARE the thirst trap.
In which case, the advice is simple. Stop. Just stop. Love yourself, boo.