From Shrekking to reverse catfishing, you might be guilty of these new (absurd) dating trends
Welcome to the brand new dating nightmares on the block, because regular old 'breadcrumbing' and 'ghosting' were just too basic.
Modern dating can be chaotic and occasionally absurd, with slivers of hope hidden in there, somewhere. Every day, there's a new dating term taking over our social media feeds, and just as we were starting to wrap our heads around concepts like fizzling, breadcrumbing, and benching, the algorithm hit us with some new absurd trends—shrekking, banksying, and reverse catfishing.
So what do these terms even mean? And the real question—are you secretly guilty of any of them? Let’s find out.
Shrekking
Basically, shrekking plays into the fantasy of “I’ll date outside my type, I might surprise myself!” It’s optimism edged with chaos, but when the vibe fizzles, the other person might feel like they were just a part of your social experiment.
Banksying
Reverse catfishing
So, we already know what catfishing is—someone pretending to be hotter and cooler online in an attempt to lure in their unsuspecting matches. But now we’ve got the reverse version, where people intentionally post photos that make them look least flattering. Think awkward selfies, bad lighting, no smug details. Why? To attract someone who isn’t superficial. I think we might actually like this one.
How to survive these new trends?
If you’re Shrekking someone, don’t fake your Fiona; stop stringing them along. And if you’re the one getting Shrekked, remember: your true love would never treat you like that. Now, if you’re getting Banksied, remember it’s more about their emotional immaturity than your worth.
Lead image: IMDb
Also read: Screaming as therapy is all the rage right now (literally)
Also read: Dating advice I’d give my best friend navigating her first relationship in her 20s