From love bombing to chameleoning: The latest Gen Z dating trend terms to know

The dating landscape has changed drastically over the years, especially for the youngest adults; Gen Z who have been active victims of various dating and relationship trends. Gen Z is one of the few age groups to take mental health and its serious consequences into consideration, however, amidst the constant battle, a lot of individuals have fallen prey to narcissistic behaviour and casual encounters when it comes to personal relationships.

It is very easy to get caught in the fire of the changing dynamics of modern relationships fueled by a lack of communication, extensive digital presence and an increased reliance on unserious dating. Latest trends have come up in the modern dating scene to put a name to these behaviours. These help in recognising a potential threat when you begin dating someone to protect your mental health and peace.

Delusionship

This term may come across as bogus or something social media users made up to ignite the meme culture. This term combines the words, ‘delusion’ and ‘relationship’ where parties involved in a relationship have false beliefs or unrealistic expectations from each other. This type of relationship lacks the emotional and mental intimacy that is the driving factor behind any successful relationship. Rather, the partners believe in illusions and have an exaggerated and idealistic image of each other which leads to unfulfilled expectations. Lack of proper communication is also a big factor behind this. This drives the partners to be absent from possessing mutual understanding which can lead to further destroyed mental health and induce a fear of abandonment and loneliness.

Chameleoning

Another term that may seem uproarious but it happens to a lot of individuals without even realising it. In this kind of situation, one partner changes their personality, interests and behaviour to align with their partner to impress them. Oftentimes or not, a person tries extremely hard to adjust to their partner's beliefs and expectations at the expense of their individuality. This leads to the loss of a person's authentic self since they drastically alter their personality, which is especially scary because people can do this without even realising it. It is not exceptionally wrong to change a few things about yourself as long as the consequences are positive but if it becomes a vicious cycle and you feel like losing yourself more with every passing day, it is time to reconsider the relationship overall.

Love bombing

A form of flattery and showering someone with gifts, compliments and attention in an inconstant way to get your partner deeply attached so they cannot leave resulting in mistreatment. Love bombing is an emotional abuse usually practised by a narcissistic partner to manipulate you into sticking around regardless of how they are treating you. This leaves a huge psychological damage to the brain as a person becomes habitual to receiving extreme amounts of love inconsistently and it becomes difficult for them to break the pattern. Individuals who are more sensitive and vulnerable around their partners succumb to love bombing the most. It is vital to recognise the difference between genuine love and counterfeit love.

Fake ups

This is a form of fictitious break-up from a relationship to test the loyalty and commitment of a partner. However, narcissists practise this method because they want to gain sympathy and validation from other people by telling them they have separated from their partners. Another meaning to this term can be when one partner threatens to leave or break up every time a problem occurs in the relationship instead of choosing to communicate and resolve conflicts. Constant threats of breaking up can ruin the mental health of the person who is being threatened and it can develop a sense of fear and abandonment in their mind.

Although these behaviours in relationships have always been around, putting a name to them can help individuals understand and recognise the patterns early on and save their mental health from being compromised.