I started talking to a kid, he’s a really nice guy. But sometimes I respond right away after he messages me, and sometimes I wait before replying. My friend says, “don’t make yourself too available,” but honestly, I don’t want to be too stiff. Do you think it’s necessary to play these flirting games? Should I just act naturally like I feel?
Daughter, you won’t always show yourself right away. It was the same in my youth; the girl who replied too quickly was called ‘too eager.’ Wait a bit, let’s see if she’ll make an effort afterward 
I experienced the same situation too; at first, we were messaging a lot, and I was responding quickly. But after a while, the conversation became one-sided. Making someone wait really works; people put in more effort.
To be honest, the idea of “making yourself too accessible” seems really unnecessary to me. I mean, if I’m experiencing something, I’d rather be honest about it. Trying to act all cool just for strategy feels really fake to me 
From a psychological perspective, a bit of ‘inaccessibility’ in flirting can keep the other person’s interest high. The brain values things that it has to put some effort into more. However, it’s important to strike the right balance without becoming completely artificial.
I’ve noticed that I don’t actually respond that quickly, but sometimes I get impatient. When it takes him a long time to write, I get confused. So I’m trying to keep things balanced anyway
Girls, what’s with this strategy talk? Back in the day, people communicated through letters, waiting days to hear back. Now everyone is online and expects an immediate response. Flirting should be sincere, not about games 