LAURA'S LOVE ADVICE: Is Texting A Good Way Of Flirting, Like Miley Cyrus Is Doing With Kings Of Leon Bassist Jared Followill?

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Is texting a good relationship tool, or does it only work against you?

We all flirtext, and Miley Cyrus is no different from us. She’s been using her cell phone to show Kings of Leon‘s bassist, Jared Followill, that she’s into him. But is this a cool, modern way of starting a relationship, or does writing LOL leave you cold?

Here’s the thing: Miley is 18. She’s of a generation where it’s not only acceptable, it’s expected to use your ‘OMGs’ and ‘XXXs’ and ‘;)’s.’ If she really wanted to show Jared, who’s six years older at 24, that she’s mature, she probably would keep her texts simple and sexy.

Flirtexting takes much of the romance out of modern-day flirting, as does letting your crush be your Facebook friend (thus seeing everything you’re up to right away) or follow you on Twitter. The mystery is immediately gone. But flirting by text, well, that seems like it’s here to stay.

If you’re going to send your guy one to two texts per day, that’s OK. Just make sure he’s calling you, too — because who wants to have a relationship that relies completely on texting? It isn’t real.

If you do decide to go this route, just make sure that you’re writing cute, clever and quick things — that they have a purpose. ‘Thinking about you’, for example, is something you never want to write, especially if you’re still at the flirting stage. Make sure that you ask him a question if you’re going to text at all; at least he’ll have a reason to respond.

In Miley’s case, she wants to make sure Jared sees her as the woman she’s attempting to prove she’s become — and not that kid next door in Nashville.