By Darcel Rockett
Chicago Tribune
We’re in the last stretch of 2019, which lends itself to looking ahead to possibilities and looking back at missteps in all aspects of our lives, including relationships and dating.
Dating app Plenty of Fish has come out with its annual dating trends survey, where we can glimpse what’s to come in 2020. The app polled more than 1,000 U.S.-based Plenty of Fish users (ages 18-50) in November; of those who participated, 56% identified as male and 44% as female.
Here are some terms from the survey that daters should watch out for in the new year. And here’s hoping dating is easier and more fruitful this time around:
Dial-toning — Don’t get it twisted; this is not ghosting. Instead, dial-toning is the act of giving people your phone number and ignoring them when they reach out. Sixty percent of singles have experienced this, while 35% of singles admit to doing this to someone.
Glamboozled — Getting dressed up for a date only to have the other person cancel at the last minute; 58% of singles can relate to this.
Eclipsing — Adopting the interests or hobbies of someone you’re dating and pretending you like those activities; 48% have dated someone who did this, while 45% of singles admit to having done it.
Cause-playing — When a casual relationship fizzles out, only to have one person later circle back to ask a favor: Will you come to his band’s show or contribute to her Kickstarter? Sixty-one percent of singles reported having this happen.
Yellow-carding — This is when people are called out on their poor dating behavior; 27% of singles have confronted a date this way.
Type-casting — Solely dating people based on Myers-Briggs type or “Love Language” compatibility; 27% of singles know someone who talked about one or the other on a date.
Kanye’d — When dates spend the entire time talking about themselves. Sound familiar? Forty-five percent of singles think so.
White Clawing — The act of staying with people you find basic and boring because they’re attractive; 27% of singles admit to having done this.