Giving Out Phone Numbers

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This morning before class (which was cancelled), a guy started talking to me. He was friendly and we had some nice conversation, and then he wanted my phone number. I gave it to him thinking he just wanted to be friends, but my boyfriend told me that guys do that when they want to be more than friends. Honestly, I only gave him my number out of kindness.

How do I know when I should give my number to guys who I DON'T want to be in a relationship with? How do I not lead someone on? I'm really confused by this and I need as much help as I can get.

It's probably better if you give your email address instead.

Even better: if the person knows your name, they could "friend" you on Facebook.

In this Internet world, you really don't have to give out your phone number, in my opinion.

Sometimes, men truly just want your number in order to be friends, but then the'll accept your facebook as well.

Indeed, offering your facebook information as an alternative is a good idea; as is mentioning that you have a boyfriend already.

Your bf is totally right.

Guys rarely approach girls and ask for numbers for the sake of friendship only, yes, things might turn out just friendship, but that usually wasn't the initial motif.

Ask yourself this: had you ever approached an another stranger girl and asked for her number on the first conversation?
or have you ever seen a straight girl approaching another stranger straight girl and asking her for her number, on the first conversation?

Usually a kind of friendship/acquaintance develops first then they exchange numbers.

I think it would be a good idea to let the person know you have a boyfriend when you give out your number. It's true some people may not react very well but nothing you do can really change that. I think this happened to me recently. I asked a girl for her number, I definitely had romantic intentions but like you I don't think she saw that.

Your boyfriend is right most of the time the guy has romantic interest, that doesn't mean they aren't willing to just be friends though. And you can tell if they're even worth being friends with by how they react to hearing about your boyfriend.

It is even more extreme than that, actually almost any kind of unnecessary interaction initiated by a guy toward a girl who he barely knows = romantic interest.

Concrete examples:

Guy approaching girl in a pub and says "hi" = romantic interest.

Guy asking girl about the book she's reading in the park = romantic interest.

Guy smiles to a girl out of blue = romantic interest.

Guy correcting how a girl should exercise in gym = romantic interest + being a douche.

Other instances where it's not necessary romantic interest.

Guy helping a girl who fell down the road = umm....if he reacts the same way toward a falling guy or old lady, then this could be just a humane act.

Guy helping a stranger to change wheel tire = that's simply a common societal expectation, no romantic interest is necessarily involved.

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We could exploit this uncertainty to our advantage and practice well-prepared "friendly" conversation* on random people, no intentions at all. No pressure either.
*Only works if you have basic conversation skill