USA Today ran a piece on dating trends hitting new lows, with five terms in it that were new to us. We went through all five and disagreed with the article on at least one.

Throning is dating someone to borrow their social status, which we agree is a bad idea but doesn't strike me as new. People have married upward for centuries. What's new is that the status being borrowed is a follower count.

Shreking is dating someone you're not attracted to on the theory that they'll treat you better. The logic fails on its own terms, and I explain why: if the premise is that attractive people are careless because they have options, then the people you're switching to have spent years being rejected, and some of them are carrying that. You've changed which pool you're shopping in, not whether the pool has a problem. This leads into the part of the episode I care most about, which is why men are so angry about online dating and why aiming that anger at women is both wrong and useless.

Banksying is quietly withdrawing from a partner before ending it. I'll defend half of this one. A breakup that arrives with no warning maximises the damage, and adults handle divorces with months of notice all the time. What I object to is doing the withdrawing in secret so your partner is still blindsided at the end.

Then zip coding, setting your dating app radius so tight you only meet neighbours, and monkey barring, lining up your next partner before ending the current one.

Links referenced in this episode:

• coachJohnbush.com
• ssm.coachjohnbush.com
• Social Connection Chronicles on Instagram