Wild ‘sticky eyes’ dating hack is ‘powerful’ — and foolproof, sexy single claims
Stare-way to heaven?
Lovesick TikTokkers are swearing by “sticky eyes,” the viral — and apparently surefire — flirting technique in which people transfix their love interest using just their gaze.
“This is one of my most powerful hacks,” Chelsea Anderson declared in a TikTok video with over 6.8 million views. “This is how to get anyone to come up to you at a bar or in a social setting.”
The self-proclaimed “professional lifehacker” — who goes by @chelseaexplainsitall on the platform — claims she invented the hypnotic method in college, although variations have been cited throughout history, most notably in the 1999 self-help book “How To Talk To Anyone” by Leil Lowndes.
Origins notwithstanding, this latest hack is touted as a corneal cupid’s arrow that will allow the user to leave men smitten without even opening one’s mouth.
The first step to sticky eyes, per the tutorial, is to make eye contact with the person you have the hots for. Once you’ve got each other in your sights, the instigator should “look away, like you’ve been caught,” said Anderson to her 180,000 TikTok followers.
That will hook the “target,” she revealed, which is when you should make your move.
“The next time that you look at them and they meet your eyes again, don’t look away. Let them break first,” the belle of the eye-ball explained. “Because they’re going to check to see if you were looking at [them], and the second look will confirm that you were.”
That’s when you play hard to get, according to the date doctor, who explained that “once you look away, you never look at them again.
“In about 45 seconds, they will be right in front of you, as if they had been summoned psychically by you,” she declared.
In fact, Anderson warns that this positive visualization is so “powerful” that she’s even deployed it inadvertently, like a romantic Medusa.
Many viewers were smitten by the technique, with one writing, “Legitimately, this is how I got my first boyfriend.”
“Men are looking for big neon red signs on if a girl is interested, they don’t see micro flirting,” said another. “Awkwardly long eye contact is exactly that. Good dog!”
However, others were less convinced.
“Ninety-five percent of why this works is because you’re very beautiful,” scoffed one naysayer, while another wrote, “The amount of confidence you need for the second stare.”
“I did this at a concert once and the singer never came to me,” quipped a third.
However, Anderson is not the only one who swears by so-called sticky eyes — dating experts have even touted this law of attraction, claiming that making eye contact signals an openness to connect that can even override lacking good looks.
“The TikTok explaining ‘sticky eyes’ is essentially repackaging a classic flirting technique — combining different types of eye contact to signal romantic interest,” dating coach Amy Chan, who detailed this “greenlighting” phenomenon in her book “Breakup Bootcamp: The Science of Rewiring Your Heart,” USA Today reported.
“It’s not necessarily the most attractive person who gets approached,” she explained. “It’s the one who signals they’re open to connection.”
Dating coach Damona Hoffman said that sticky eyes are a good way to stand out in the social media age when people are in “constant communication with each other thanks to technology, yet we don’t connect as meaningfully.
“In a world in which people’s eyes are often glued to their phones, eye contact holds even more weight,” she said.
The one caveat is that this visual aid should be treated as an eyes-breaker rather than the “whole strategy,” according to Chan.
“Genuine connection requires conversation and engagement beyond just eye contact.”
