With Valentine’s Day here, you may think it’s a good time to start dating -- but maybe not.
The dating game has changed so much over the years, it may be hard to recognize the new lingo.
It's not ‘crushes’ and ‘courting’ anymore. It's an entirely new dictionary.
Some words maybe you've heard: cougar, catfishing and ghosting -- but you probably don't know what benching, haunting or cushioning is.
Be okay with that.
If you don't know any of them, here you go:
- A 'cougar' is an older woman who dates a younger man. Think Demi Moore.
- 'Catfishing' is pretending to be someone else when online dating.
- And 'ghosting' is when one person suddenly stops talking, texting, and communicating with the other person out of nowhere.
- 'Benching' is keeping a potential love interest 'on the bench' by texting them, but never meeting up.
- 'Haunting' is 'ghosting,' but the person still watches your social media.
- 'Cushioning' is when you keep texting or flirting with someone, but you're already dating someone else. That extra person is there to 'cushion' a potential break up.
But dating today goes beyond this new love language. It's even broken down into seasons, or at least the six or so months leading up to Valentine's Day.
Basically during Fall and Winter, you don't want to be alone so you get in a relationship.
You'll have someone to snuggle with when it's cold and someone to kiss on for New Years.
But once Valentine's Day hits, or soon after, it's over.
Singling both people up for 'hot girl summer.' ... And that's another story.
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