Man, can you believe all the drama of 2017 dating trends has finally disappeared? It’s almost as if we can enjoy ourselves again — not having to worry about stealthing or roaching. Ha! Who are we kidding? It’s been less than a month and we can already feel the painful sting of single life. Dating in 2018 is going to be just as complicated as dating in 2018! Why? Because these 2018 dating trends have already joined the party and we’re not sure what to make of them!
According to a survey conducted by leading dating app, Plenty of Fish, of 2000 singles in the United States the following dating trends are sure to be on the rise in 2018. As mentioned in the headline, they aren’t all bad. That’s not saying they’re good either. If anything, they’re mostly just annoying — then again, what aspect of dating someone new isn’t annoying? We believe it’s important to arm yourself with as much useful research as possible, that way, you know who’s worth your time and who’s, well, not!
2018 Dating Trends
- The following definitions, facts, and figures were taken directly from Plenty of Fish. The snarky opinions? Those are ours.
Flexting:
- Digital boasting to impress a date before meeting IRL.
- 47 percent of singles have experienced the infamous “Flexter,” who sends boastful texts in order to make themselves sound more impressive before meeting up for a date. The majority of women (63%) have received these types of messages versus only 38% of men.
- Guys, the only thing worse than being a “flexer” in real life, is being a “flexter”. Seriously, find a better way to spend your time, pease.
Cricketing:
- Leaving someone on “read” for too long and taking much too long to continue the conversation.
- The majority of singles (67%) say they have waited patiently for a reply from their date, only to receive it much later than expected.
- Sending a text message takes roughly — hold on — OK, back — two seconds. Yes, we just tested it out. If someone isn’t answering you, it’s because they don’t want to.
Ghostbusting:
- Continuing to text someone after they’ve ghosted you.
- In 2016, a Plenty of Fish survey revealed 78% of single Millennials had been Ghosted by someone they had been dating. It looks like singles in 2018 are putting their foot down in an attempt to end this behavior, with 38% having experienced someone who would not stop texting them after being Ghosted. Ghostbusters believe persistence is key to success.
- So, yeah, this sounds a lot like harassment. Don’t do this. Don’t do this to your friends, to your mom, to your therapist, and certainly not someone you’ve gone on a date with.
Seredipidating:
- Putting off a date and “leaving it up to fate” in case someone better comes along in the interim.
- The grass is always greener, according to 30% of singles who admitted to putting off a day and time to meet for a date, in case someone better comes along.
- OK, we definitely understand this logic and while it seems really terrible, it’s not that bad. It’s human nature to always want more than you have — #SorryNotSorry.
Fauxbae’ing:
- Pretending to have a significant other over social media when you’re actually single.
- 19% of single men have witnessed someone pretend to have a significant other over social media when they were actually single. Fauxbae’ing may be an attempt to make an ex jealous, or to convince a nosey family of a nonexistent partner to put an end to their consistent questioning about your love life.
- Jan Brady got away with this for like umpteen seasons of The Brady Bunch, it’s nothing new.
Well, guys, that’s all we’ve got so far! We’re positive (unfortunately) that this list of dating trends will only continue to grow as the year continues. Our hope is that the more aware we make readers, the less miserable the single-scene becomes. Here’s hoping, y’all.
Lead Image Via Getty
By FHM Editor
