Obviously, it’s every singleton’s responsibility to stay abreast of all these dating terms so they can defend themselves.

The latest one is ‘R-Bombing’ i.e. when a person you’re interested in reads your message but doesn’t respond. Essentially, they ignore you.

We have all experienced that sinking feeling of watching our phone screens waiting for a reply after you know your message has been “read”. Then anxiously await the ‘….’ showing you they are in the process of answering and then no reply.

Oh, yeah, you have just been R-Bombed.

The hardest thing about R-Bombing is the torture of knowing that your message has been read. Why would anyone behave this way, you wonder?
The people who “R-Bomb” are likely to lack basic communication skills, choosing to be silent rather than saying what is on their minds. It could be they fear conflict or being called out for their behaviour.

How do you handle R-Bombing?

You can choose to just leave it and move on. Or wait a while to give them a chance to respond, if they respond. Your actions toward being R-Bombed depends on how long you have been seeing each other. If you have been seeing each other for a short time, letting it slide seems the most obvious thing to do. However, if you have been seeing each other for a while, then you need to decide what is best for you. It’s true that choosing to end a relationship this way lacks closure. One thing is for sure, don’t over think it, because their lack of courtesy, it’s makes it obvious that it’s not you, it’s them who are the problem. They are poor communicators and don’t know how to be honest and authentic.

Another course of action to take against this awful and frustrating behaviour is to change the setting in your phone and turn off both “read” message and “now typing “. Sometimes “Ignorance is bliss”.

How do you ask? They are looking at you via your social media.

The term – Orbiting – was coined by Man Repeller’s Anna Iovine, who experienced orbiting firsthand. She had connected with a guy on all her social media platforms after they went on a first date. After their second date, the guy stopped responding to her texts.  However, he oddly,  still watched all of her Instagram Stories, thus keeping Iovine “in his orbit,” as her friend eloquently put it.

Like ghosting, orbiting requires one person in a relationship to inexplicably cut ties and just disappear off the face of the planet (so to speak). The difference is that this person doesn’t go off the grid; instead, they will ghost you and then occasionally pop back into your life usually via social media.

Orbiting is a dating trend that could only occur in the age of social media.

There are several explanations that might explain why people orbit, according to Iovine. It could be a power move, it might be a sign of FOMO (fear of missing out) or an attempt at trying to keep options open.

The dating scene sadly has become quite complicated since the advent of social media. To ensure you are not messing with people’s mental state, just break things off when you are not feeling it. Most important make it clear as daylight and then stay away from their social media accounts.

Social media is certainly not going to paint a better picture of the person you just met. If things didn’t jell in-person social media is going to confuse you and trick you into believing something else. Be an adult and move on and let others move on too and create the opportunity for something new to happen.

If you are a victim of orbiting, just block them from your social media.

It’s just totally not cool to just disappear and then engage in creepy-behaviour.