Men tell you how much they value you. You just need to listen a little closer

I once had a relationship with a man who was so addicted to his technology that I would find myself repeatedly sitting at a figuratively empty table staring at a wall while he texted people who weren't there. So I left him.

I’ve never regretted that choice.

I’ve also left a man for flaking on me three times in three dates for no real reason.

I’ve never regretted that choice either.

I once stayed with someone who was perpetually late, flakey, and glued to his technology for half of our relationship.

I have enough regret about having done to overload a camel.

The time I give you has an opportunity cost. Every hour I spend staring at the back of your phone is an hour I could be visiting my best friend, calling my brother, or earning my next desperately needed dollar. A man who doesn’t respect my time cannot respect me.

Yes, I know, I know. I’m way too choosy. I’ll still dump the next guy who spends our first date on his smartphone. If a man doesn’t value me enough to treat my time with respect, I don’t have a rosy outlook for our future, and this has proven itself to be an accurate flag time and time again.

My mother had a three-year war with cancer, so I know what it’s like to never be able to spend a minute away from your phone. Mine wasn't turned off once in all that time. But Men One through Three didn’t have dying relatives. They just had better things to do with their time than spend it with me so I gave them more of it. All of it, to be precise.

Yes, I’m a bitch. I know, but if he’s not spending time with me, I’ll live by the religion of Greg Behrendt: he’s just not that into me. And you know what? Greg’s a smart guy. If I’d listened to him with Man Number Three, I wouldn’t have landed myself in psychological and financial debt.

Men tell you how much they value you. You just need to listen a little closer to hear them over the noise.