From “I have died every day waiting for you” to “Thank you, next,” the nature of romantic relationships has changed significantly in the past few years. When you see someone cute, and the anxiety of talking to them, the butterflies in your stomach are now replaced with swiping left and right on dating apps.
While there’s no particular way to define ‘modern relationship,’ I think it’s safe to say that technology and freedom of choice have changed people’s approach and mindset toward dating.
Earlier, people kept their promises of “till death do us part.” But now, committing to the partner was culturally agreed upon as unconditional and eternal.
Monogamy no longer means being with one person for life but is interpreted as having one romantic partner at a time.
That’s not all, dating apps have made meeting new people easier and less scary. When you know, you can ask anyone out with just a right swipe. You can’t help but wonder whether you’ve found the special one or if there is somebody better out there, which makes committing to one person tricky.
Even the terms used in dating have changed. Gone are the days when the most complex relationship terms were “friendzone” and “friends with benefits.” With Gen-Z ruling the dating scene, expect the terms to change accordingly.
But you don’t need to worry about the dating game sprinting ahead and leaving you far behind. We’re here to decode these terminologies for you. Catch up on the terms used in modern dating with the list we have compiled below.
1. Pocketing/stashing
Pocketing is when you’ve been seeing someone for quite some time, but your partner never introduced you to their parents or friends. They’re harboring you without real intentions of taking the relationship much further.
An easy test to confirm if you are being pocketed or not is to ask your partner to post a picture of you two on Instagram. If they make excuses to get out of it, we might have bad news for you. However, if you are South Asian, you know this happens. It is called the survival instinct of keeping your love life from your parents, or they’ll kill you.
2. Benching
Ever heard, “You’ve been benched for this game; better luck next time.” No, no, we haven’t skipped to sports; we are still talking about dating and relationships. Benching means giving hope to someone else while you are already in a relationship to save them for later.
“I like you too, but I’m seeing someone right now. Maybe when we are both single, we can give this a try” Sounds familiar? Just walk away from this type of relationship because it will end with you being hurt.
3. Slow Fade
Breaking up is tough; we all get that. No one wants to deal with crying, yelling, and blame games. But this doesn’t justify keeping your partner in the dark. Slow fading means slowly and gradually backing away from a relationship, so the breakup hurts less. People who resort to these feelings need to own up and responsibly express them.
4. Love Bombing
Love bombing is a very serious romantic relationship term. When someone you’re dating showers you with excessive love and affection, and once you are obsessed with them, they will manipulate you into doing things you don’t want to do. These types of relationships become abusive in no time. So next time something like this happens to you, run far away from that person.
5. Roaching
Roaching is interesting and sometimes also innocent. You find out that your partner is cheating on you, and when you confront them, they say they didn’t know you were exclusive. This is called roaching. It generally happens when two people fail to communicate the ground rules and boundaries of the relationship. But learn to differentiate when it is actually a misunderstanding and when they make excuses and take advantage of you.
6. Micro cheating
Micro cheating is when your partner isn’t necessarily cheating but does things you don’t approve of. This can include anything from hiding important information to talking to someone behind your back.
Also Read: How to End Your Relationship On Good Terms?
7. Wokefishing
Wokefishing is when someone presents themselves as a feminist, LGBTQ rights activist, protests-attending, and slogan-chanting liberal just to impress you but turns out to be quite the opposite.
You will get to know that you are wokefished after a few weeks or even months of the relationship, immediately prompting a breakup. It’s a problem that’s on the rise, so make sure you watch.
8. Negging
Negging is a backhanded compliment designed to put you down and crave the approval of whoever it’s coming from. It’s a type of manipulation where the person is playing push and pull with you. It will eventually lead to a toxic relationship.
“Your dress looks nice. I like how you changed up from your normal style”, implying that you usually don’t look as good. No, just no. You need to step away from this relationship.
9. Textlationship
Textlationship is when your relationship exists only on your phone. It happens when you two can’t seem to get past the texting stage and meet in person. The plans to go on a real date are never really executed. Introverts find it especially hard to get out of this stage.
10. Daterview
Daterview is an interview but for the date. If you are out with someone new and every time they open their mouth, a question comes out, beware, my friend, you are on a daterview.
It is normal to ask common and fun questions to get to know your date better. But if you suddenly find yourself answering questions like, “Are you looking for something serious? Why did none of your past relationships work” it’s a red flag.
11. DTR
Define the relationship or DTR: the talk that you don’t want to be a part of if you thought things were casual between you two. If you receive a DTR text, you already know you are going to have one of those conversations that’ll either make or break your relationship.
12. Situationship
A situationship is when two people enter a romantic relationship out of convenience or due to the situation. This can result from proximity, like when you start dating your coworker because you see them daily. A situationship comes with an expiration date that aligns with the end of your circumstances, like one of you getting a new job.
