Ghosting, Nanoship, Pocketing: Are labels making dating more complicated?

Dating is hard. New labels make it worse. Kittenfishing. Paperclipping. Micro-cheating. Let’s just focus on the people, shall we?

Sit this one out, Cupid. The best pairing of our time is not Tom and Zendaya or Meghann Fahy and Leo Woodall. It’s the dating scene and the dictionary. We’ve found terms for every little behaviour that previous generations either didn’t know or dismissed. We started with Ghosting (a date who disappears halfway into courtship). Then, we coined Zombeing (when the ghoster returns). We learnt about Micro-cheating (minor flirtations), Pocketing (hiding a partner from your social circle), Nanoships (short-lived connections) and Kittenfishing (like catfishing but without a fake identity). You know how exes reappear with no intention to reconnect? There’s a name for that too: Paperclipping.

Ghosting, or a date who disappears, gave way to Zombieing (when the ghoster returns). (SHUTTERSTOCK)

The dating dictionary is chock-full of terms. Can we focus on the actual relationship, please? (SHUTTERSTOCK)

Some terms, such as mansplaining, are important, because they call out people’s toxic behaviour. (ADOBE STOCK)

Are you being benched, or is your date simply taking their time to carefully make a decision? (SHUTTERSTOCK)