As if it wasn't bad enough.
If you thought the world of ghosting, stashing, and sidebarring was bad, things are about to get worse.
Modern dating is tough, and sometimes it can feel like everyone else has a manual to follow while you're left in the dark wondering if anyone will ever love you.
The game playing makes it even more complicated. When are you supposed to arrange the second date? How long do you wait until you phone or text the person you're interested in?
Of course, social media only perpetuates our anxieties.
However, thanks to dating website Plenty of Fish, there are names for all the digital dating behaviours you're likely to come across in 2018 — and most of them are linked to our phones, according to the site's dating expert Shannon Smith.
"[They] can often be avoided by communicating clearly with someone we're dating, and being mindful of our tech manners," she told Business Insider. "For instance, 'Cricketing' and 'Ghostbusting' are simply by-products of attempting to spare someone's feelings, or avoiding an awkward conversation that we shouldn't shy away from. And we all know that phoneless 'Flexting' has been going on since the dawn of time.
She added: "Singles in 2018 are incredibly savvy daters, and are more empowered than ever to make the best choices for them when it comes to their romantic dealings. But in a fast-paced world with so much choice, sometimes we all need a reminder that dating should be fun!"
Here are the five new dating behaviours to be aware of in 2018 — then you can go back to swiping away to your heart's content, knowing what you're getting yourself into.
1. Flexting
Flexting is digitally boasting to impress your date before you meet them in real life. According to Plenty of Fish data, 47% of single people have experienced this, via a person who brags to them over texts to big themselves up.
It's usually women on the receiving end of this behaviour, with 63% reporting having gotten messages like this, compared to just 38% of men.
2. Cricketing
Cricketing someone is when you leave them on "read" for too long. In some cases it can take days for the other person to reply and continue the conversation. Instead of getting a response, the sender is met with silence. Cue the crickets.
The majority of single people, 67% of them, have said they've waited patiently for a reply and have gotten it way later than expected. We're all just busy, okay?
3. Ghostbusting
This is one for the people who don't give up. Ghostbusting is where you continue to text someone when they are straight up ignoring you (ghosting).
According to Plenty of Fish, a massive 78% of single millennials have been ghosted by someone they were dating. In the current callous, cowardly world of dating, it's good to know there are some perseverent people left — 38% of people reported someone wouldn't stop texting them after they tried to phase them out.
4. Seredipidating
With seredipidating, you leave things up to fate, and put off a date just in case someone else comes along who you like more.
Nearly a third of singles said they believe the grass is always greener, and have admitted to putting off a day and time to meet for a date, just on the off-chance they meet someone in the interim. There has to be a limit though, as otherwise you'll be swiping forever — alone.
5. Fauxbae'ing
Fauxbae'ing is a curious habit 19% of single men have witnessed. It's when someone pretends to have a significant other over social media, when they're actually single.
(AKA: Bae caught me slippin.)
It's probably a tactic to make an ex jealous, or an attempt to make nosey family members leave you alone. Either way it's a bit weird.
Strategy: Dating is getting even more complicated — here are 5 more terms you need to know in 2018
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