The Sexy Thirst Trap: How to Master It Without Looking Too Thirsty

Social media gives us the chance to connect with whomever we please. The thirst trap is one way to grab attention, but perhaps the wrong kind.

The selfie is a rite of passage, and one that does no harm. Everyone wants to get a little positive attention from time to time. It gives us a confidence boost. They make us feel fantastic. No harm in that! There is another type of selfie designed to grab maximum attention and impact. There is nothing innocent about this type of selfie designed to get serious admiration. Welcome to the thirst trap.

We all love a good selfie, right? Most of us spend the first part of a night out trying to find the most flattering angle, capturing our perfect look with a snap on Facebook or Instagram.

The first few selfies of the night tend to be careful, orchestrated, and filtered within an inch of their lives. As the night wears on, caution wanes, and the selfies become more in the moment.

Hands up! Who has taken a selfie in a toilet attempting to pull a sexy pout?

Yep, we all have our hands up! [Read: The 12 important details you need for how to take a sexy selfie]

What is a thirst trap?

You will have seen a thirst trap on social media, even if you didn’t know at the time what it was. This is a selfie with a key difference.

A thirst trap is likely to be far from just a face. It is more likely to be either full bodied or showing a certain part of the body. For instance, a woman might take a thirst trap selfie with a pout on her face and her cleavage showing to its full extent. A man might take a selfie with a brooding look on his face, with his chest looking buff and tanned.

The thirst trap selfie is basically there to grab attention. It isn’t there for cute remarks, it’s there for seriously sexy remarks. A single person may post a thirst trap to find someone to meet up with. We’re talking about a digital age booty call without words.

The main aim of a thirst trap is: a) get attention, and b) attract as many comments as possible. It’s also likely to result in several private messages which are far from innocent. There is nothing cute and “look at how nice my day was” about this type of selfie. It’s purely designed for maximum sexiness and attention. [Read: How to be sexy and own your own unique attractiveness]

Aren’t thirst traps a little desperate?

Yes and no. A thirst trap done in the right way can be very effective, lie if it is aimed at one particular person who you’re trying to attract the attention of. In some cases however, the picture can be too thirsty. Going too far and simply causing people to tell you to put your clothes back on. Find the ideal piece of middle ground, without erring too far towards borderline soft porn.

When you aim to do a thirst trap in the right way, walk the fine line between sexiness and subtlety. Let’s say that you’re attempting to get the attention of a special someone on your social media, and there has been a little flirting going on, but nothing of any substance. You’re keen to move things along, but you’re not sure how to go about it. Enter the thirst trap.

In this case, you would get yourself looking your best, find the right lighting, and pose in a way which screams “I’m available, come get me.” Then get a look on your face that is basically making love to the camera *to put it mildly*. You would then share it, when you can see your targeted beau is online, and you wait.

It might work, it might not, but hey, at least you tried! [Read: 15 smooth ways to get your crush’s attention and catch their eye]

When it all backfires …

Is it possible for a thirst trap to backfire? Yes, spectacularly. I’ve already mentioned that you can be a little too thirsty, people are going to cringe when they see your photo, no matter how sexy you think it is. Less really is more, and I’m not talking about clothing.

It’s also important to set only one thirst trap and never attempt to keep repeating the process. One might work, more than one and people are going to think you’re in training to become a top shelf magazine model. Nobody wants that reputation!

There are many celebrities who have attempted the thirst trap route and failed miserably. Think about Britney Spears back in the days when she was far from subtle. Those types of pictures were designed for attention. They were designed to shock and change people’s perceptions of who Britney was marketed as during her earliest years. [Read: 16 signs you’re an insufferable “attention whore”]

The problem with those types of photos is that they confused people. Britney’s fans knew her as an innocent, virginal singer, and suddenly she was pouting into the camera and taking her clothes off. A thirst trap has to be in-keeping with who you are. Otherwise it’s going to come over as fake and contrived, rather than original and you showing a sexier side of yourself. [Read: How to be comfortable with yourself: A guide to not giving a f*ck]

How to set the perfect thirst trap

If you’re keen on trying a thirst trap for yourself, there are a few rules to help you get it right. Remember, going all out for your first thirst trap is likely to bring many comments to your social media feed. Don’t allow your head to swell! Comments are one thing, but genuine respect isn’t going to come from a sexy photo.

If you’re keen to go ahead, bear these points in mind.

– Post only one picture of this type and don’t repeat it too often

– Find the right lighting. Harsh lighting won’t work, so think soft and subtle

– Choose your clothing carefully. Don’t go half naked, it doesn’t look great. Instead, opt for a hint of sexiness, e.g. a hint of cleavage, a few buttons undone on the chest

– Make eye contact with the camera

– A coy smile will work wonders, e.g. a ‘come hither’ look

[Read: 18 tips to look incredibly hot and go from wallflower to flawless]

Those are the basics to get your thirst trap pictures looking perfect. This walks the line of acceptable, without heading into “oh no” territory. Remember, you might think that wearing as little as possible and posing in an overly sexy way is going to get the attention of the one you want, but it’s more likely to backfire.

Stick to subtle. In this case, they will wonder about you, and mystery is something extremely sexy, no matter what you’re wearing or the pose you choose.

These are the guidelines which will give you a good outcome from your snap, but that doesn’t mean that you’re going to get the intended reaction from a certain someone, if that is your aim. If you get comments from people which are less than flattering, i.e. offering to meet you for whatever reason *definitely not for coffee*, then simply delete and move on. This is one of the biggest side effects of setting a thirst trap – unwanted attention from the one you’re not attempting to get it from!

[Read: How attention seek behavior drives some to seek drama]

At the end of the day, we set a thirst trap for serious impact. We do it because we want attention and comments which boost our self-esteem. But are there better ways to get what you need?