The 3 Day Rule: RIP or Still Relevant?

Over dinner last night, a friend was filling me in on a recent date she went on, and it brought up an interesting topic. This guy had gotten her number on a Saturday and texted her the next day. She replied right away, and they went out that night. She'd had fun and was planning to see him again, but she was still upset. "My sister said this is doomed to fail," she told me, "because neither of us followed the 3 Day Rule."

For anyone who started dating in the era of phones and cell phones, the 3 Day Rule is conventional wisdom. A guy has to wait to call you for at least 3 days after getting your number so he doesn't appear needy or desperate. A girl has to wait at least a few hours, and preferably a few days, before responding.



I told my friend that in my expert opinion, the 3 Day Rule is dead. In the first place, everyone has a cell phone these days and can receive and send text messages instantly. So if you let three days pass because you're pretending you're too busy or cool to call, you're not fooling anyone. You just come across as less interested. Also, people have shorter attention spans. We are constantly barraged by information about people throughout our daily lives and on Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace, so if you don't make your move fast, you won't be able to cut through the clutter.

I don't know if things between my friend and her date are going to work out. But if they don't, I'm pretty sure it won't be because neither of them followed the 3 Day Rule.