6 Modern Dating Trends You Should Definitely Know About

Who needs a dating app when you can slide into someone’s DMs (sending a private message)? Whether it’s posting a “thirst trap” selfie or constantly checking to see if your crush has viewed your story, flirting with one (or, ya know, some) of the 800 million app users has become less the exception and more the social norm.

Move over, ghosting. Breadcrumbing, or the act of feigning interest just enough (say, a couple texts here and there), is the more drawn-out, hard-to-tell-whether-they’re-just-busy-or-maybe-just-not-into-you relative of completely ignoring someone.

Add another to the list of horrible dating practices. So, you really like Tom, but you’re also trying to keep Jack around just in case things don’t work out. That’s called cushioning, which is basically prepping for the end of a relationship by having a few other options waiting in the wings.

A couple pictures and a few fun facts aren’t cutting it anymore. Many apps, like Coffee Meets Bagel, have recently added a video function to increase user matches and interaction and decrease the chance of first-date disappointment and ghosting.

We’ve all been victim to phone snubbing—aka “phubbing” (OK, and we’ve been perpetrators, too). It’s when you ignore everything around you in favor of Instagram or whatever your app of choice. Not so great. But keep it in mind so you can consciously remember to put the phone away and make some eye contact.

Dinner and a movie? Nah, we’d rather go knife throwing or try our hand at a pasta-making class. It’s the rise of experiential dates: ones that involve off-the-beaten-path activities as an exciting way to get to know each other (and, ya know, take some pretty cool Boomerangs in the process).