Vetting the Top New Dating Trends in the Coming Year
Beware of the "Apocalypser," the "Maskerader," and "Fauci-ing" in the upcoming dating year, as the single swimmers at Plenty of Fish, after schooling, revealed its annual list of dating trends it expects for next year including a few COVID-related hurdles .
The dating app puts out an annual list of relationship issues they expect to see more of next year. Plenty of Fish polled over 2,000 U.S. members and found that pop culture, current events and social media have a significant impact on dating.
Here are 11 dating trends they are tracking:
1. Fauci-ing. Declining to date someone because you don't feel they're taking the pandemic seriously enough.
2. Maskerading. Where you PRETEND to care about masks and COVID-19, just so people will date you.
3. Apocalypsing. Treating every relationship like it's your last, and getting too serious too quick. A third of single people know someone who's done it.
4. Zoolander-ing. Like the movie "Zoolander". It's people who won't stop checking THEMSELVES out on camera when you're on a Zoom date.
5. Sanitizing. This one isn't a COVID thing. It's when you delete photos and wipe all evidence of past relationships from your social media.
6. Endgame-ing. Accidentally sending a racy photo or video to someone you're dating.
7. Folklore-ing. Being so focused on fairy tale romance that your expectations don't match reality.
8. Waldo-ing. When someone only posts group photos on their dating profile, so it's hard to tell which person they are.
9. Stalk-blocking. When you make all of your social media accounts private, so people who might want to date you can't research you first.
10. Bradying. This one's a dig on Tom Brady for changing teams. It's when you end a long-term relationship even though everyone says it's a mistake.
11. Hey and Pray. When you play the numbers game on dating apps, and just spam the bejesus out of a bunch of people with things like "hi' or "hey there." Two-thirds of women who use dating apps say it's happened to them.
For extra credit, there's been a lot of talk recently about "hatfishing," where the fellas will purposely wear a hat to conceal a certain level of deterioration of the hairline. "Foul!," cry certain ladies.
Happy swiping!