Social media and dating apps have made connecting so much easier. It’s broadened our dating options, and in some cases, saves us a lot of wasted time and effort. But there are the times when it makes dating complicated. Gone are the days when ghosting was the worst thing ever. Now we have to worry about benching and love bombing and haunting. If you haven’t heard any of these before, don’t fret. We’ve rounded up all of the dating terms you need to know about.
Ghosting
When someone ceases communication and disappears from your life out of nowhere. They don’t give you a warning, you just never hear from them again.
Benching
This one feels extra cruel because they’re pretty much keeping you on the back burner. You’ll get flirty text messages but there will always be an excuse not to follow through on plans to hang out.
Zombieing
You know when you get that “hey stranger” text? That’s zombieing. They have essentially ghosted for so long that you could have presumed them dead, but nope! There they are in your inbox as if eight months haven’t passed since you last spoke.
Cushioning
Do you have an ex fling who continues to flirt with you even though they’re in a relationship? They’re cushioning. It’s a way to keep you around should their relationship fail, and it doesn’t hurt that getting some attention from you gives them an ego boost.
Breadcrumbing
Breadcrumbing is when they hit you with a beautiful gesture then disappear for a few weeks. It’s a way of keeping your interest in them peaked when they have no real intention of progressing the relationship.
Cuffing
This refers to wanting to couple up around the winter time when it’s way too cold to be out on dates and much easier to Netflix and chill in warm clothes. Typically people start cuffing right before the cold sets in, which gives them enough time to establish a good enough connection to spend the holidays together.
Stashing
Haven’t met your partner’s friends or family? Do you feel like your only dates happen at their place or yours? That’s stashing. It’s when they’re hiding you from the rest of their life.
Phubbing
We have probably all dealt with phubbing in the age of smartphones and social media. It’s when your date spends the entire time with their eyes glued to their phones, barely entertaining conversation with you.
Haunting
Haunting will really give you the chills when you realize it’s happening. You’re being haunted when someone who has ghosted you a very long time ago randomly Snapchats you or appears to have viewed your IG Story. Yes, the ghost is alive.
Daterview
This can be upsetting, especially if you’re very interested in your date in the romantic sense. It’s when a date is more like a job interview then an opportunity to build a relationship. Nothing kills the mood more.
Love Bombing
Beware of love bombing because at face value it seems great. They’re treating you like gold and are eager to move the relationship along quickly, but it’s actually an upfront attempt to win you over to later have more control over you.
Nonversation
This is all of those “hey, how are you?” messages you have stashed in your Tinder and Bumble. It’s the small talk that won’t ever result in a date and is just a waste of time.
Monkeying
We all have that friend that jumps from one relationship to the other without taking as much as one cycle of breath in between. They’re monkeying!
Fizzling
You've been on a date every week since you met 3 months ago and now all of a sudden you're going on dates less often and your texts are getting dryer by the day. They might be trying to fizzle out of this with you.
Slow Dumping
Your significant other slowly starts distancing themselves, emotionally and physically, until you ultimately end up breaking up.
