There's a new dating trend known as 'Gatsbying' that everyone should be aware of

On the murky, complicated and hard to navigate path that is dating in the modern age, it can be hard to know what exactly it is that you're meant to be doing. Dating in the present day if full of obstacles and barriers that simply didn't exist in the days of yesteryear. The likes of Tinder, Bumble and all the other social media apps have made it possible for people to find out everything about you before you've even said a word - something which can be both a positive and negative thing.

Unsurprisingly, these new methods of dating have given birth to new trends. Whether it's ghosting, freckling or micro-cheating, there are a host of ways in which dating can go wrong for a variety of different reasons. However, we now have a new dating term in our midst: Gatsbying.

While this word is undoubtedly completely and utterly made up, it refers to something that we're all guilty of doing.

If you're an avid user of Instagram, you will know all about the power of Instagram Stories. The feature, which was rolled out to compete with Snapchat and has completely blown it out of the water, allows users to post a short video of what they're up to. The footage will then stay on their profile for 24 hours, before disappearing into the stratosphere.

In all honesty, the sole purpose of Stories is to brag. Whether you're on holiday, at a crazy party, or simply chilling with your feet up eating some smashed avocado on toast; it's all about making other people jealous of your lifestyle. Not only this, but you can check who is viewing your story and this is where Gatsbying comes into play. The term was coined by Matilda Dods and refers to how Gatsby would throw huge parties in order to impress Daisy from across the bay.

So, how does this relate to everyday life? Well, luckily, Dods explains in detail: "Picture this: You're out with your friends, you've got a glass of wine in your hand, you're laughing, your lipstick has worn off just the right amount, and your hair is cool-girl effortless," she wrote in a blog post for TomBoy.

"Pull out your phone and take a video that displays perfectly fun, cute and carefree you are. [Add to story].

"Twenty minutes later you pull your phone out again, and immediately check to see if *they've* seen it. You know who *they* are. It is that guy or gall whose attention you're trying to get with the video you just posted. '

"You, my dear, are Gatsbying," she concluded.

If we're being honest here, while some of the dating trends are hard to relate to, Gatsbying is something that all young people have done in their time. This social media age is a time where self-approval and validation is mainly achieved online, so expect even more trends to blossom in the future.