IS IT REALLY A RED FLAG?

How to know what behaviour is *actually* worth dumping them over

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Whether you're in the dating pool or just chronically on socials, you're likely familiar with the term “red flag”.

This refers to early warning signs when dating that signal incompatibility, potential issues or worrying behaviour that’s indicative of a deeper problem such as abuse.

However, thanks to platforms like TikTok, red flag has become a blanket term for just about every little thing.

The man you're wanting to introduce to your family who refers to everyone as “dude”? Red flag. The girl you've been on a couple of dates with doesn’t like dogs? Sorry to say, but that’s a red flag, too.

“In today’s dating culture, the term ‘red flag’ gets thrown around a lot and sometimes unfairly,” explains Sarah Richardson, CEO of Online Psychologists Australia.

And naturally, with the current overuse of the term, it can be hard to work out what genuinely is - and isn’t - a red flag when it comes to dating.

Here, we asked Richardson to debunk common dating behaviours to work out if they really are red flags...

RED FLAG: CONSTANT MESSAGING