Watching Sandra Bullock battle her way through a post-apocalyptic world in Bird Box, there was one thought going through every viewer's head: thank God that ain't me!
However, it turns out that you might be living through your own personal Bird Box without even realising it.
No, I don't mean that you're travelling through a forest and down a river blindfolded to avoid supernatural entities that could force you to commit suicide without being aware of the fact.
I do mean, however, that you may be getting Bird Boxed in the dating world.
Say hello to the latest brand new 2019 dating trend! Bird Boxing is officially defined by Tinder as "being blind to just how bad your partner/the person you’re seeing is".
Do your friends secretly despise the person you're dating? Have you brushed off claims of their bad behaviour, naming it "harmless"? Are you endeared by everything they do, blind to the fact that they're a straight-up dingbat?
Yup, you've been Bird Boxed.
Sorry to tell you, but much like people in the film, you're wearing that blindfold and you're wearing it good. So, yeah - sort that out, guys.
Bird Boxing certainly isn't the only dating trend to come out of 2019 so far. Over the past few months, our eyes have also been opened to Benching, You-turning, Orbiting and many other common, tricksy forms of behaviour everyone should be on the look-out for.
So, what do all of these things mean? Benching, for a start, has been defined as when you keep someone around as an option without truly committing to them - something that many of us are likely guilty of and will probably be guilty of again in the future.
To give you a better idea, the full Urban Dictionary definition of benching reads:
"Benching is when you start dating someone you think is nice and who has potential, but you're not crazy about them. You don't know whether to keep dating them, or dump them and move on to the next one. This is where benching happens; instead of going for either of the above polarized options, you put your date in your mental 'maybe' folder and 'bench them' so you date around to see what else is out there."
You-turning is not much better. Have you ever fallen head-over-heels in love with someone, but then suddenly changed your mind and acted completely differently towards them, confusing the poor little lamb? Yep, you're officially a dirty You-turner!
Orbiting continues the trend of daters being awful people. This when you ghost someone, but keep following their social media - watching their Instagram and Snapchat stories, retweeting their tweets and commenting on their Facebook photos - just in case you want them back, you know.
But don't think these are the only horrendous dating trends! There's also Micro cheating, Pie hunting, Roaching, Cushioning, Freckling, Gatsbying and many, many more.
So, does anyone else want to curl up alone and never date again?
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