What Are Red Flags?
Red flags (🚩) are warning signs in a person's behavior, communication, or attitude that suggest they might be toxic, manipulative, or just not a good match. In dating, red flags are those early signals that something is wrong — even if you're trying really hard to ignore them.
The 🚩 emoji has become internet shorthand for calling out red flags. If someone tweets something questionable, the replies will be nothing but 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩.
Where Did Red Flags Come From?
The concept of red flags in relationships has existed in psychology and dating advice for decades. But the term became an internet PHENOMENON in October 2021, when the 🚩 red flag emoji trend took over Twitter. People would post statements like "I don't read books" followed by a wall of 🚩🚩🚩.
It became both serious (actual toxic behavior) and comedic ("they don't like The Office 🚩🚩🚩") — which made it one of the most versatile meme formats ever.
How to Use Red Flags
- Serious: "Love bombing then going cold? Massive red flag. 🚩"
- Meme format: "'I don't like dogs' 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩"
- Self-aware: "I AM the red flag. 🚩"
- Advice: "If they're rude to waitstaff, that's a red flag. Period."
Examples in the Wild
"he said his ex is crazy. the common denominator in all his 'crazy' exes is HIM. 🚩"
"my therapist helped me realize I wasn't looking for love, I was looking for more red flags to collect"
Why It Matters
Red flag awareness is genuinely important for healthy relationships. Learning to identify warning signs early can save people from toxic, abusive, or simply incompatible relationships. The internet made it fun and accessible, but the core message is real: trust your gut, notice patterns, and don't ignore warning signs because someone is cute.