You’ve been thinking about ignoring a guy who has ignored, hurt, rejected or dumped you. However, you’re uncertain about a crucial matter. Do guys notice when you ignore them? Here’s the shocking truth!
Guys do notice when you ignore them if they are interested in you or were previously invested in communicating with you. If not, then they probably won’t notice anything for a long time, if at all. Because men are usually ego-driven, rejection breeds obsession in them.
The ego presents an image of ultimate worth. It creates an expectation that we can have anything or anyone we want.
When that ego is bruised or challenged, an extremely uncomfortable reaction takes place.
A man can become defensive, cold, petty or completely uncentered. In some cases, men completely fall apart when their egos are bruised by any form of rejection.
Let’s assume that he barely had any significant interest in you but was aware of your interest.
He’ll feel as if you’ll always want him and he must be so valuable that you are willing to chase him.
You must be beneath him to be chasing him in this manner.
That’s his ego talking.
It warps our perception of reality.
When you suddenly give up on him after he responds or reaches out to you, the ego becomes agitated.
He won’t be able to comprehend the fact that you are ignoring him. It goes against the beliefs that he adopted about the dynamic between the two of you.
His opinion of you changes because you are no longer the girl who was chasing him.
You’re no longer the easily attainable girl.
In fact, you’re now the person who chose to ignore him.
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Your attention and presence have become unattainable and that challenge is intoxicating to a man who is driven by his ego.
At that point, he begins to question his own perception of himself and his worth!
The ego in men cannot handle this phenomenon which is why most men will chase you if they are rejected or ignored.
That’s powerful.
Be that as it may, what you need to remember is that there’s a difference between ignoring a guy who has texted or called you and not initiating contact with a guy who doesn’t make an effort to text or call you.
The effect isn’t the same.
That could be interpreted as a form of non-contact.
It’s definitely effective but not the same as ignoring a guy.
So, what’s important for us to establish is that if a guy hasn’t really been texting you and most of your messages or calls go unanswered, ignoring him won’t really have much of an impact on him.
However, if you’ve been pursuing him for some time, he’ll eventually start to notice a lack of effort on your end.
The core message is to stop chasing a guy who isn’t interested in you at all.
It’s that simple.
You’ll come across as more valuable and attractive than if you were constantly trying to win his attention and affection.
Related post: Is it immature to ignore your ex?
When Will He Notice That I’m Ignoring Him?

At first, he won’t immediately notice that you’re ignoring him but he’ll notice that haven’t been around much.
If you choose not to respond when he first reaches out, you have effectively ignored him, and the clock will start ticking from that point on.
I want you to consider something else.
Just because he notices that you’re ignoring him doesn’t mean that it will affect him.
It all depends on whether he has any feelings for you, attachment and a significant ego.
The only thing that will happen if you ignore him and you are someone he doesn’t care about at all is that he will become aware of your disregard for him and dismiss it.
Unless you get in touch with him, he will carry on with his life and you won’t likely hear from him again for a while, if at all.
If he actually has any level of care or attachment to you, then he’ll most likely reach out.
There’s really no set amount of time that we can latch onto with respect to how long it takes for him to do something about your ignoring him.
But, eventually, he’ll try to reach out again and find out what’s wrong.
I’ve previously written articles about how ignoring a guy can make him chase you and I’ve stipulated very specific circumstances when it’s okay to ignore someone.
I normally don’t advocate ignoring people.
It’s not a healthy way of developing feelings of attraction or a good basis to start a relationship.
You would benefit from healthy communication a lot more than being forced to ignore someone to gain their attention.
And that’s something you really need to think about.
Do you want to be forced to attract someone by ignoring them or do you want to attract someone who actually likes communicating with you?
The latter option is far more wholesome, healthy and romantic, if you ask me.
But, if ignoring him is something you feel is imperative to the situation at hand, then I completely understand.
Particularly if you’re trying to ignore an ex in an effort to get them back or teach them a lesson for being rude to you or treating you like an option.
Oh, something else just came to mind.
Let’s say that he’s used to you texting him every day or every week. When you stop all contact and break the routine, that’s when he will begin to notice that you’re ignoring him.
At the same time, if he is accustomed to you disappearing for a while before texting him again, he won’t notice that you are ignoring him unless you ignore his texts for a lot longer than usual.
Let’s also assume that he wasn’t interested in you because there was someone else in the picture.
It is true that men who are casually dating are in contact with different women.
At one point or another, someone gets most of his attention.
When things are going well with that person, you won’t really hear or see much of him.
Assuming that you begin to ignore him, he will only react to it if and when that situation with the other woman falls apart.
Related post: Ignoring your ex is the best revenge
How Guys React When You Ignore Them

1. They’ll try to get your attention indirectly.
To avoid appearing desperate and to preserve their egos, men will use a roundabout way of getting your attention.
It’s also a test for him to determine if you are actually ignoring him or if there’s a reason why you forget to reply to him.
He’ll do things like post a status update, share a picture, update his story, and so on and so forth.
Sometimes he’ll share a picture of himself that is supposedly fantastic or something like that.
I know that this is something a lot of women do as well.
But, keep in mind that social media is hyperfeminized, and the average man is following what he sees online.
Some of these men are going to mimic the behavior of other girls.
So, the first thing is to elicit information about where he stands with you.
He wants to see if you even view his content and what your reaction will be once you do.
2. They’ll overthink the reason why you’re ignoring them.
As I’ve shared with you above, someone who feels like they’re being chased or wanted often perceives themselves in a position of superiority or higher value.
The more often they are used to seeing you pursue them, the more likely they are to develop an expectation of this behavior.
When you break the cycle and suddenly ignore them, confusion and uncertainty set in.
He’ll try to wrap his head around all the possible reasons why you are ignoring him.
This is strange behavior from you and it goes against the idea he had of you and the dynamic between the two of you.
Human nature is to seek certainty.
By default, uncertainty is unsettling.
So, he’ll think about possible reasons why you’re ignoring him.
The thought that triggers the most emotion is if you have lost interest in him or if you met someone else.
If you meet someone else, does that mean you think that guy is better?
That’s the kind of thought that comes to mind and it stirs up feelings of insecurity, jealousy, anxiety or curiosity.
3. They’ll try to make you jealous.
When his previous attempts at getting your attention don’t work, that’s when he’ll try to make you jealous.
His updates will now project an image of carefree, exciting experiences. He’ll tease the idea that he’s living the best life. He’ll also allude to the fact that there are other girls who want him or something along those lines.
The social media updates will be out of the norm.
If you’ve been in contact with him long enough, you’d get a rough idea of the type of stuff he shares.
When his updates are about other girls or having some unbelievable experience, it’s probably an attempt to make you curious and jealous.
I just want to emphasize that not all men do this.
I’m talking about the average guy who is not perspicacious or attuned to emotional self-control.
They will be extremely prone to this sort of behavior.
Also, someone who doesn’t actually care will just be living their life. You have to remain as objective as possible when examining his behavior.
4. They’ll text or call you for attention.
When all the hints and subtle attention-grabbing acts fail, most men start to experience a great degree of confusion, uncertainty and an increase in interest.
When they can’t wrap their heads around the reason why you are ignoring them and why none of their attempts to lure you back work, that’s when they reach out in a manner that appears nonchalant or relaxed.
A simple greeting, a meme or just a quirky line are usually the types of texts you’ll receive.
He’s not going to make any claims that you are ignoring him.
The fear of coming across as insecure or weak will prevent him from acting on his feelings. He’ll try to remain cool and calm without letting you know that he’s jumping to any conclusions.
At this point, the desired effect has been achieved.
You got him to reassess his opinion of you or the dynamic between the two of you. You are no longer the girl who is chasing him. You’re now the girl who once chased him and didn’t bother to reply to him until he texted you.
The power dynamic is restored to a healthy balance and an unspoken level of respect has been earned.
But, this can quickly spiral into an ugly and destructive situation because men do not take rejection lightly.
5. They’ll get mad or lash out.
Weak men cannot handle being rejected or made to feel like they’re not good enough.
Even if they held a different view, the idea of being rejected or ignored is so uncomfortable that it triggers their insecurities in a terrible way.
After making multiple attempts to communicate with you without avail, bitterness, anger and resentment bubble to the surface.
Unable to contain the feelings that stem from rejection and disrespect, he may text you in a harsh, rude and/or insulting way.
He’s angry that you’re treating him this way but he’s also feeling desperate for some kind of connection or communication with you.
It’s not intentional.
At this point, he’s acting out of emotion and may not even understand why he’s lashing out because the normal and reasonable way to handle this situation is to either delete you or let you know that this behavior is unacceptable and you are choosing to stop all communication.
6. They’ll plead for an explanation.
If he doesn’t lash out, then he may resort to pleading and begging.
At this point, all he can think about is getting to the bottom of this situation. He wants to understand why you’re ignoring him and he wants to fix things.
This is difficult to witness because most people are going through significant pain and anxiety after being ignored for a significant period of time.
It’s disheartening to see someone sacrifice their respect and dignity just to get some answers.
Ignoring someone can have detrimental effects on them. This is why I don’t advocate for this type of behavior.
There was a time when I would advise people to try ignoring someone who was disinterested or disrespectful in order to assert their boundaries and values.
But, I think that it has the potential to be incredibly cruel.
Manipulators and narcissists are experts at doing this sort of thing which is why it’s not worth it to behave in this manner or to tolerate it from someone else.
Unless you have done something terrible that warrants being ignored or you have a justifiable reason for ignoring someone, you may as well just spend your time with someone who values you from the get-go.
Don’t put yourself in the position of having to make someone beg and plead.
It may feel powerful but it’s destructive to your own soul.
7. They’ll block you.
When a man has been ignored for an extended period of time and feels unfairly treated, he will eventually block you.
Men with a high degree of self-worth and an abundance of women will not tolerate this behavior.
If he has to make multiple attempts to communicate with you only to be met with silence, you’re going to lose him forever.
Men who have very little interest in you will also leave after some time.
It’s possible that at first, you piqued their interest; however, as you went on ignoring them, the unfavorable consequences of your silence outweighed any potential advantages.
Additionally, if his ego is really bruised from this, he may just block you to redeem himself in his own eyes.
Related post: 10 Reasons for exes to block you
Ignoring Him Will Make Him Walk Away

Ignoring a guy will get his attention, especially if he did not foresee it happening.
However, if you continuously ignore him, he will walk away and lose interest.
It’s really easy to go on a power trip when you witness a man chase you after ignoring him. It feels like you’re in control of the situation and that you are finally being validated.
This power trip is easily addictive and toxic. So much so, most women continue to ignore guys long after he shows an interest in them and makes an attempt to communicate.
Do this for long enough and he’ll get tired of trying and eventually walk away. The worst-case scenario is that his entire opinion of you will change to something negative and unattractive.
By then, even if you change your mind about ignoring him, he’ll probably want to move on completely or won’t want anything to do with you.
Please take this into consideration before ignoring a guy you actually want in your life.
Even if he has hurt you and this is something you’ve decided to do, there is such a thing as doing something for too long.
If you don’t care about him being in your life at all, then just keep ignoring him until he leaves altogether.
Although I would much rather you be straightforward and direct with him, I think this will help both of you find closure in a mature and respectful manner.
There are a few very specific circumstances when you should ignore a guy and it might work in your favor.
It’s not something I would recommend nor is it something that should happen more than once or twice under special circumstances.
The potential to become toxic or to create a toxic situation is too high with something of this nature.
I would rather not pursue a relationship with someone than turn to games and manipulation to win their attention.
It’s just not worth it.
Related post: How long should I wait to text him back after he ignored me?
Key Takeaways
Let’s summarize what we’ve discussed in this article so that you leave with the most important points in your mind.
Do guys notice when you ignore them?
Yes, they will notice that you are ignoring them provided that they care about you to some degree and are invested in communicating with you. Without these prerequisites being fulfilled, it’s unlikely that he’ll notice anything.
Additionally, if he’s involved with someone else or is casually dating multiple people, he’s not going to notice that you’re ignoring him.
Before you start ignoring someone, think about what you’re trying to achieve by doing this.
Based on that, you should be able to determine whether it’s a good idea or not.
If all you want to do is gain his attention and undo some of the chasing that you’ve done, wait until he reaches out to check up on you.
That’s when you let him know that you’ve been really busy or caught up.
You can be vague about it so as to pique his curiosity further.
Thereafter, go back to texting him when he texts you. Match and mirror his effort. Initiate contact every couple of days and see if he asks you out.
If he does, then you know that he’s interested.
Additionally, if you decide to ignore him just to attract him or teach him a lesson, be sure that you’re not doing it for too long or else you run the risk of losing him altogether.
Again, I want to emphasize the importance of treating others the way you want to be treated.
If a guy is treating you in such a way that you feel compelled to do something like this, perhaps, he’s not the right guy for you.
Craving his attention is great, especially if he’s a busy man or you’re just getting to know him.
But, if it gets to the point where you feel desperate and needs to resort to this kind of game, he may just not be the one for you.
I know that I just wrote an entire article about this topic because it would be shortsighted of me not to discuss the effects of ignoring someone to gain their interest.
But, it’s not something that I advocate.
I think silence is important, but only in select circumstances.
Otherwise, you should just look for someone who has a mutual interest in you.
You’ll feel more loved and have a better time with a man who cares about communicating with you than addicting yourself to chasing uninterested men.
With that being said, I hope you found this article to be thought-provoking and informative. Leave your thoughts or questions in the comment section below and I’ll be sure to reply.