Plenty of Fish has just come out with their fourth annual list of the Top Dating Trends of 2021, with pop culture and current events playing a big role in how people look for love next year.
The top trends include:
- Apocalypsing(/ah-poc-a-lyps-ing) – Treating any relationship as if it’s your last, prompting you to get very serious with someone even though you only started dating.
- Maskerading(/mas-kuh-reyd-ing) – Pretending you’re taking COVID-19 safety precautions seriously just to impress a possible match.
- Fauci-ing(/fau-chee-ing) – Not wanting to date someone because they aren’t taking the pandemic seriously enough.
- Zoomlander-ing(/zoom-lan-der-ing) – When a potential match spends their entire Zoom date checking themselves out on camera instead of looking at their date.
- Endgame-ing(/end-geym-ing) – Accidentally sending a NSFW photo or video to someone you’re dating.
- Folklore-ing(/fo-klore-ing) – Obsessing over the fairytale romance of a relationship that your expectations can’t match up to reality.
- Sanitizing(/san-i-tahyz-ing) – Wiping your social media of all evidence of a past relationship.
- Waldo-ing(/wawl-doh-ing) – The act of posting only group shots on a dating profile so a potential match has a hard time figuring out what a date looks like.
- Stalk-blocking(/stawk blok-ing) – Taking steps to keep prospective dates from creeping by making your social media account private.
- Bradying(/braid-e-ing) – Inspired by quarterback Tom Brady, this is when you end a long-term relationship even though friends and family think it’s a mistake.
- Hey & Pray(/Hey and prey) – Reaching out to every match with simple lines like "Hey there," "Hey you," "Hey," "Hi," and praying someone will respond.