If you have ever swiped into the world of online dating, you will undoubtedly be familiar with the concept of breadcrumbing.
This is where someone leads you on for weeks, only to ditch you out of the blue, and then sporadically try and get back in contact without ever actually committing. Yeah, that.
Well now there’s a term for it: “breadcrumbing”, a term coined by The New York Times.
Here are 16 things you only know if you’ve been breadcrumbed by a stranger.
1. You go on a first date and it all goes well.
They don’t even make excuses about needing to go home early to feed their cat.
2. They’re texting you regularly.
And sexting...
3. They’re doing everything to suggest this might be a thing.
*Definitely not imagining engagement rings*
4. Then they vanish.
Messages stop. Replies not forthcoming.
5. They must have found someone else.
This is Tinder after all.
6. You resume swiping and move on.
Like the well adjusted, non-emotionally-attached adult you are.
7. Weeks pass without any communication.
We wonder where it all went wrong?
8. They randomly tag you in a cat meme on Facebook.
It must be a drunk mistake.
9. They snoop on your LinkedIn page three times in 24 hours.
This is amateur hour stalking.
10. And they like an Instagram picture from summer 2015.
That level of scrolling is no accident.
11. But still no direct contact.
Is a text really too much to ask?
12. They ask you on another date.
You want to turn them down, but you’re just so curious.
13. There are so many mixed messages going on here.
Freud would have a field day with these people.
14. Can we ask what happened?
Or do we have to pretend like you totally didn’t just ignore us for two months?
15. They remain vague about what they actually want.
But you decide to text back anyway.
16. But of course, they never respond.
And so the cycle continues.