The dating scene has certainly changed, but who knew it would get this bad? Even dating has trends and terms now! As long as you’re “in,” it’s cool. But look again, and then contemplate. Wasted time is wasted piece of you.

1. Cushioning 

Cushioning may not mean as cute as it sounds. You know when you put bubble wraps on your packages to protect your belongings? Yup. That’s what a cushioner does, but to people, for themselves. They are in a steadily going relationship, but they still flirt with someone else on the side. Well, just in case the relationships falls to an unfortunate end in the near future. The side chick or side dude serves as a cushion or some sort of a rebound, a plan B. They may be stringed along for a certain period of time with casual flirtatious messages or tweets, or even a seemingly innocent consistent conversation, but with a little bit of hokus pokus here and there.

2. “Dating” without labels. No pressure, just fun. 

What’s the point in spending a lot of your time with someone you have no intentions of going official with? It’s like basically building a foundation out of a weak materialyou know it’s bound to crash sooner or later. You make each other smile; you go out on dates; you appear in groups as a couple; and yet, you refuse to put labels on it. Because why again? Oh yeah, you’re just having fun. And once you come to clear labels, everything else blurs, pressure’s on.

3. Ghosting 

Ghosting is when you had been on dates with someone and then they just suddenly disappear. You two had been talking or going out, and then out of nowhere, they leave you without any notice. No warning, no signs, and voila! The next thing you know is they’re already gone. And you’ll only know it when you finally get the hint. By that time, they may already be hiding behind their phones and social media accounts. You’re already completely blocked off, and there’s no way you could get a hold of them again. Nada.

4. Haunting 

So they have completely left you without any word, but out of the blue, they suddenly appear on your social media. They like your posts, favourite your tweets, and view your ig stories and snaps. And it’s creepy, weird, irritating or everything all at once. The dead is back from its grave and is now haunting you. It’s either they’re bored, or they want to indirectly say hi to remind you that the past still haunts.

5. Breadcrumbing 

Breadcrumbing is when someone is leaving trails for someone to follow. Scratch that. It is when they are leaving false hopes for someone with it getting basically nowhere. They have zero intentions whatsoever. They’re giving signs and hints that they are interested, when they’re actually not. And when you bite the bait, you could be stuck. They exit out of and resurface in your life whenever they want to. You could be a dating prospect, a candidate, but not qualified enough for them to be their “the one.” You’re just there to boost their ego, or maybe to fill their free time when they’re bored, or just simply be one of their toyswhile they’re waiting for the better one that perfectly fits their type. You’re never going to be that special someone.

6. Wearing the millennial mask 

This is another problem with most millennials when it comes to dating. They like being perceived as emotionally strong, as if they are truly emotionless. Isn’t it normal to feel down and cry when someone you value leaves you? Doesn’t it seem more natural and easier to move on and get on with life when you admit on something and then accept the reality? They act like they are perfectly fine with anyone leaving them. That they don’t get attached. They often sleep away with lots of different people right after a breakup. They drink off their livers out. They do things just to show the world how well they are. But at the end of the day, there’s emptiness.

7. Talking too much before a date 

In this generation where almost everything is already fast-paced and easy to get, even the dating scene has changed. Back in the day, blind dates were more common. You only truly get to know a person through face-to-face conversations and dating. The old (and real) kind of dating. And it only gets deeper as you decide to proceed to the next, and then the next. Nowadays, everything is already googled and searched on facebook beforehand. There’s not much mystery anymore, expectations are already set.

8. Use of dating apps 

There’s Tinder, Skout, Bumble, Grindr, and so on. A lot of dating apps has emerged on the app store to cater to the needs of the singles around the world. Getting a date or a casual hook up now only takes a few swipes and button clicks. So a lot of people becomes someone else online, to suit the superficial first screening of dating prospects.

9. Benching 

Benching could be considered one of the worst millennial dating trends. Because in it, you are just about a mix of a little bit of everything. You could be a rebound, you could be given false hopes, and you could be left hanging anytime. It is when someone is interested in you. They find you attractive, they like you, and they see that you could be a good partner. But, not so much that they would actually right away dive onto you. It’s like from the scale of worst to best, you are the okay. You are good, but not so much that you are indispensable. So for a little while, they leave you on a bench, waiting for them, while they try to search for other better prospects. If they find one, it’s now a buh-bye for you. If they don’t, well, they’ll stick to you.