ONLINE DATING TIPS
Annoying Dating Behaviors: Things You Should Know Before Dating Online
Every year, there’s always a new online term that the internet discovers and it becomes this new phenomenon that becomes the talk of the town.
From ghosting to catfishing to sexting, there are a plethora of terms that you’ll find new unless you are into online dating. There’s practically a whole dictionary’s worth of terms, enough to give Merriam-Webster a run for their money
Unfortunately, these new terms have more to do with the negative aspects of online dating. That’s because of the proliferation of annoying, and even devious, dating practices.
If you’re planning to give online dating a try, you’ll have to familiarize yourself with a few of these online dating practices. They may very well serve as your red flag indicators. To name a few:
1. Stashing
If you have been seeing each other for a while now, but have yet to meet their family and friends, chances are you are being stashed.
Stashing is when a person deliberately hides their partner away from their family and friends. They also make an effort not to post anything about you on social media.
2. Paperclipping
This term originated from the Microsoft helping tool Clippy. Clippy was a tool that popped up constantly even though you didn’t need him.
The same thing can be said with paper clippers. They only ever reach out to you whenever they need you, but are never there when you need them.
3. Breadcrumbing
Have you ever read Hansel and Gretel? While the siblings are being led deep into the woods, they drop pieces of bread so they can find their way home.
Breadcrumbing works the same way. Your date leaves you with bits and pieces of information to keep you interested, but they aren’t willing to fully invest their time with you.
They give you the hope of a possible relationship, but in reality they are only just playing you for a fool.
4. Benching
Benching is a dating term that has been around since the early 2000s. It is when you are being strung along by a person who isn’t sure about dating you. You are left as a second option just in case things don’t work out with their first choice.
Benching would be a perfectly fine dating practice — when set with proper expectations. It’s important to let the person you are seeing know you aren’t ready to commit just yet, and that you just want to test things out.
5. Haunting
Have you ever been ghosted? This is another online dating term where the person you are seeing suddenly goes radio silent. Haunting is when they break the silence and suddenly reach out to you. They pop back into your life as if nothing happened.
Beware if a person is haunting you — you might find yourself being their rebound.
6. Orbiting
This is when the person you’re seeing ghosts you, but still makes themselves known by liking your pics or your posts. They’re lurking through your content, but they never make an effort to message you.
It’s dating behavior like orbiting that ruins your online dating experience. But even then, that is not enough to stop you from your romantic endeavors.
There’s no stopping you from trying to find love online. However, if you want to avoid running into problems with online dating, you should be aware of what’s going on.
Suggested read
