To put it bluntly, nobody likes getting "played".

I have a feeling that April Fool's Day itself is what's starting to feel "played" to most people instead.

Never mind the fact that nobody knows whether or not there's an apostrophe in it or not, let alone exactly where it belongs if it's supposed to be there.

The bottom line is that feeling like an idiot is no fun.

Granted, people should be easy going and have a sense of humor about stuff like this. I'm fully on board with that.

But look at it this way, what is there to be gained from "messing with people" and making them feel stupid?

It most certainly wouldn't give a woman the impression that you were all about her best interests.

Am I overreacting here? Probably.

But ultimately, the fact that today is April 1st is really only a good excuse to bring up the topic of "humor by deception" in general, which I've been getting around to doing for some time now.

We as men tend to do this to each other all the time. Some guys even get their kicks by taking it to an extreme.

Consider the following example:


Friend 1: "Dude...your girlfriend just told me she's breaking up with you today for another guy."


Friend 2: "That's ridiculous. I just talked to her an hour ago and everything was perfectly cool."


Friend 1: (with a straight face) "I don't know, man...I think you'd better talk to her again."


Friend 2: "I know you're just trying to mess with me. Give me a break."


Friend 1: "Hmm... Well, you can believe me or not. But don't say I didn't tell you what to expect."


Friend 2: "You're lying."


Friend 1: (still with a straight face) "No, I'm dead serious, dude. I think you might want to call her again."


Friend 2: (after a long pause reaches for his cell phone with a concerned look on his face)


Friend 1: (bursts out laughing) "Ha ha! I swear, you're so gullible! Ahahaha..."


As you can see, "Friend 1" thinks the whole thing is hilarious. Meanwhile, "Friend 2" is left thinking "Friend 1" isn't much of a "friend" at all.

So what's the problem, here?

Deep down, "Friend 1" is feeling the need to assert power over someone else. By pulling one over on "Friend 2" he gets to feel that temporary rush.

But "Friend 1" not only feels downright violated, he likely sees right through "Friend 1's" intentions, and quite possibly his insecure mindset as well.

Yeah, sure...if "Friend 2" wanted to he could even the score when "Friend 1" least expects it, and that's a pattern followed by many, many social circles of guys. But if he's truly an "alpha" leader type, he won't.

He won't need to. As the coolest guy in the group, he'll be recognized as the one who seeks to make everyone else look BETTER in the presence of others rather than WORSE.

Meanwhile, if the definition of "douche" is someone who thinks he's cooler than everyone else perceives him to be, then "Friend 1" could easily be up for South Park's "Biggest Douche In The Universe" award.

Now, if we as guys get perturbed when someone messes with us like this, imagine how women look at it.

Interestingly, women almost never "mess with each other" in the way I just described. So generally speaking, they don't tend to relate well to the humor element behind it.

Add it all up, and making a woman feel like an idiot whose trust has just been violated isn't a very good way to create attraction.

If other dudes don't really appreciate being toyed with, that goes double for women.

Seriously, messing with people for the purpose of personal amusement is no joke. I've personally sworn off doing it for well over a decade now, and all it's done is increase the number and quality of my friendships.

If you're still thinking of all this as just an innocuous way to play around, my suggestion is to put it aside for a few weeks or months and see how that one simple change affects your social life for the better.

Watch as people start to enjoy your company more and give you a greater amount of respect.

Better yet, watch how your girlfriend never really ends up leaving you for another guy.

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below!