Will smiling at a shy guy make him uncomfortable?

[Anonymous]

Would a girl smiling at a shy guy send him running for the hills? as in start avoiding looking at her or look at her then turn his face quick like he didn’t see her at all? So there’s this guy. We have this staring flirty thing going on. So the other day I smiled at him as I walking by him the other day and all did was do a double take at me. I guess he didn’t have time to react and smile back or maybe he chose not to smile back. But whatever his reason for not smiling was when I looked at him again after being left hanging he looked red in the face and upset. /: but now he avoids looking at me. He still looks tho he just doesn’t let me catch him looking at me. He used to maintain eye contact and look at my face even if I caught him looking at me.

[Anonymous]

Guys aren’t going to think a smile means anything most of the time. What do you expect him to do? A double take is a pretty normal response. He might not look because he’s worried he’s going to be seen as staring. Or if he thinks you’re looking at him then he risks making eye contact then it’s like “oh shit, does she want me to talk to her, is there something on my face, what would I even say?” And so on.

I don’t know what you were expecting but it’s probably too much.

If you want to talk to him then just do it.

[Asker]

Yeah I probably expected too much from him. But a little smile back wouldn’t have hurt. Especially when he’s the one who stared staring at me every time I walked by or smiled at me or looked at me from the corner of his.

[Opinion Owner]

It's hard to reflexively smile on purpose. By the time he processes the situation and thinks 'okay maybe I should smile here' the moment has passed. Then there's exactly what smiling technique is going to be used -- and all that assumes that he thinks you're smiling at him and not something funny or whatever.

If the genders were reversed and a guy smiles at a girl then thinks "a little smile back wouldn’t have hurt" many people would think he was a bit of a douche. So maybe it is too much to ask.

But again, this is all resolved by being direct.

[asksthem]

Don't over-think this. A smile should not make anyone uncomfortable. Your question sounds as if you want to know if he likes you. You gotta do more than smile, if you want answers. Try more flirting, ex: sit next to him, talk to him, go from there. If he is shy, then he will not be front and center in the flirting arena. He's not running for the hills, maybe just hiding behind one. There is the chance he's not interested, but you don't know yet. Go find out.

[Asker]

He’s even spoken to me while my mom was standing behind me. And he gives me that sparkly eye look you give a cute puppy/baby. But after I smiled he has been looking at me but looking away he doesn’t let me “catch him looking at me”

[asksthem]

It's possible that he doesn't want to you to know that he is interested. This is also common with shy people. It's a common safety mechanism. Assuming he is interested, he might have the butterfly in stomach effect with you (feels nervous in a good way). This might be why he won't let you catch him, doing so would be a flirt / bold kinda move on his part. Your mom being present might have made it easier because it wasn't just you and him.

The solution here is simply to talk to him more. If games start up, simply move on. Hope this helps!

[Asker]

Really? because my mom can look kinda intimidating haha. I was really surprised he talked to me about a fair that was goin on outside our local mall.

[stillagoodgirl]

It will at first but after a while he'll start blushing and smiling back. It's so cute

[reptocarl]

We don’t understand signs, signals, hints and can’t read minds. We only understand words that are plain and simple leaving no room for misinterpretation. Smiling will accomplish nothing

[Asker]

Ok so how can I approach him without coming on too strong (in case he’s shy)

[reptocarl]

Talk to him and ask him out

[7193444244]

Yes it can ! Talk to him alone he's really nervous so just take it slowly if you have a genuine interest with him. He's not going to make the first move you will have too. find out what he likes and use it as your stepping stone. Just speaking out of personal experience I tend to be the nervous , shy type. Try a few drinks with him to get him loose enough to talk to you. Either way he's not going to make the first few moves

[ahworst]

There are definitely a lot of possible dynamics due to the complexity of humans, but in general, a smile is a great thing for anyone. I thought it was worth walking up to a girl to talk to her afterwards because she smiled. With that said, there could be feeling of unworthyness or the like or fear that could keep him from opening up or allowing him to even be liked. Perhaps, the best thing to do is pray for him. Hope that helps.

[Dean7]

Well he's probably shy, being red and not looking back is definitely an indication that person is an introvert.. so yeah some men react differently, is he uncomfortable no he's just shy like a little kid would be 🤔

[Asker]

But he sounds confident talking to other customers/his friends. He’s even spoken to me while my mom was standing behind me. But after I smiled he has been looking at me but looking away (he doesn’t let me catch him staring)

[Dean7]

Talking to his friends is different so as customers cause those are his friends and he has a job dealing with customers of course he should be confident in both aspects..

when you said he talked to you while your mom standing behind you what did you mean by that like what's your relationship between you guys?

[Asker]

I don’t him nor does he know me. I just frequent his job on the weekends. But that day I was ordering and he was taking my order and he asked if I had been at the fair (there was a fair going on outside my local mall) and I said “no, why” and he said “oh because somebody’s perfume smells like funnel cake”. But whenever he takes my order he stares at my face and makes eye contact a lot as well.

[Asker]

And it kinda surprised me because my mom was like 3 feet behind me.

[Dean7]

Maybe he's just being nice or he might have a crush on you.. since you smiled and he acted weird you can either ignore him or keep doing what you're doing smile even more, if he's into you then he might approach you if not then he won't as simple as that, the question is what is it that you want?

[Asker]

I want him to approach me. He started this whole staring thing , which got me to notice him and he smiles at me and stares at me but after I smiled at him it’s like he’s nervous around me and looks away.

[Dean7]

Ignore the bastard if he's interested then he'll come otherwise why did he stared and smiled at you and when you smiled at him he just got nervous and confused all of the sudden I mean he's either playing games or he's a little kid with no self confident, you did your part and showed him you're interested so now it's up to him to decide either to approach you or not, if you really like this guy you can at least small talk him.

[Hector46]

A shy guy like him probably couldn't react in time to respond to your smile. He's probably upset at himself for how much of an idiot he looked like.

[Asker]

But now he looks at me and looks away quick before I “catch him”. of course I have already seen him.

[Hector46]

Sounds like he's just being shy.

[BritishBiscuits]

Shy guy here, it would put me more at ease and comfortable around you but that doesn't go for everyone.

[Dominace100]

There could be any number of reasons, but I think the dude likes you.

[Asker]

What makes you think he likes me?

[LasPlagas]

I'm shy too with girls I would think if she smiles at me, she is ok to talk to. If she doesn't smile or even avoid eye contact (like most of them) I don't initiate a convo

[Asker]

Yeah which is what bums me out. I smiled at him and I think I scared him off because now if he sees me he gets all talkative with other people and it’s kinda like he doesn’t see me

[Browneye57]

No, you're just conveying interest.
Consider a conversation next time - you'll both get a LOT more out of it.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

No smiling at a shy guy wouldn't make him uncomfortable.
I'm shy and it wouldn't make me uncomfortable.

[laxus7]

Nope it is not making him uncomfortable it's just he is too afraid to look at you just go and talk to him

[Asker]

Why would he be afraid to look at me?

[laxus7]

Because he is shy, that's his personality right. If u like him just go start a talk. then he would come around

[Nice222]

No I believe it would do the opposite and make him open up more.

[Asker]

Yeah which is what bums me out. I smiled at him and I think I scared him off because now if he sees me he gets all talkative with other people and it’s kinda like he doesn’t see me

[Nice222]

Oh that sucks

[dominic_drago]

What world do you live in where simply smiling is seen as anything more than just smiling.

[sidvt]

It just makes him nervous

[ilikegettingdirty32]

Sounds like he has no confidence

[Asker]

But he sounds confident talking to other customers/his friends. He’s even spoken to me while my mom was standing behind me. But after I smiled he has been looking at me but looking away. He doesn’t maintain eye contact

[ilikegettingdirty32]

Must like you

[Asker]

So not maintaining eye contact and looking away is not a bad sign?

[ilikegettingdirty32]

I'm a very confident guy and even I do it sometimes if I like a girl

[Asker]

Do what? Avoid looking at her?

[ilikegettingdirty32]

Avoid eye contact sometimes

[rockrewls]

Just smile and don't worry about it, it's fine...

[Jay-Ar]

Definitely 😅

[dragon9669]

Probably