Views:437 | By: Lenah Welcome to the wild world of dating in the digital age—where swipes are instant, feelings are complicated, and new terms are born faster than actual relationships. If you’ve been confused lately about what on earth is happening in modern romance, you’re not alone.
Here are 13 dating trends making the rounds—some amusing, some red-flag worthy, and all worth knowing.
1. Pocketing
This is when someone keeps you hidden from the people in their life—friends, family, social media. If you’ve been “together” for months and still feel like a secret… you just might be pocketed.
2. Outsourcing
Too tired or overwhelmed to manage your dating app? Some people hand over their love life to friends who swipe, match, and chat on their behalf. Sounds fun—until someone starts catching feelings.
3. Benching
You’re not exactly ghosted… but you’re not fully in the game either. You’re a backup plan—benched until they figure out what they really want. (Ouch.)
4. Breadcrumbing
This one hurts. They send flirty texts once in a while, maybe drop a "miss you" here and there—but never actually follow through. It’s not love. It’s just breadcrumbs.
5. Roaching
Named after the horror of finding one roach… and realizing there are many. This happens when someone’s secretly dating multiple people and not being honest about it. You’re not in a situationship—you’re in an infestation.
6. Cuffing Season
When the weather gets colder and people start craving cozy nights in, some rush into relationships to avoid winter loneliness. Cute? Maybe. But come spring… they might “migrate.”
7. Kittenfishing
Think catfishing—but softer. It’s when someone tweaks their profile photos or bios to look a little (or a lot) better than reality. A few filters and exaggerated intrests later, you’re not dating a person—you’re dating their PR team.

8. Open Casting
Not sure what you’re looking for? Why not date everyone and figure it out later? Open casting is the practice of keeping options wide open, juggling multiple people with no real direction. Risky if feelings aren’t aligned.
9. Vulturing
This is when someone hovers around your relationship, waiting for it to crash so they can swoop in and make a move. Yep. It’s as predatory as it sounds.
10. Wander Love
Romance born through shared travel adventures. Think: bonding over backpacking, local food, and spontaneous sunsets. It’s dreamy—just make sure the love lasts beyond the passport stamps.
11. Haunting
They ghosted you, but now they’re watching all your stories and liking old photos. They’re gone… but still lingering. It’s giving ghost energy, with Wi-Fi access.
12. Ghostlighting
A twisted combo of ghosting and gaslighting. They vanish, then reappear later acting like you were the one who disappeared—or denying anything happened. Confused? That’s the point.

Swipe smart. Stay grounded. And remember: trends fade. But respect, honesty, and communication? Always in style.