NEW DATING TREND: BENCHING

(June, 2016) There’s a new dating trend: benching. According to New York magazine, benching is when someone will text you enough to stay on your radar, but they don’t actually make concrete plans to see you again. Basically, they’re not that into you, but aren’t so not into you that they want to ditch you entirely. Benching happens between people who’ve been on one or two dates, with the rest of their non-relationship playing out via text. Benchers will check in to ask about your day here and there and may ask you to meet up under impossible circumstances, like catching a beer at 2 p.m. across town when they know you have to work. As a result, you feel like you keep having missed connections, rather than having him keep you “on the bench”. That way, if you run into the bencher again, he didn’t do anything wrong – he’s been in touch, after all. He’s just really, really busy.
* Hey, this sound just like the guy we hired to do work on the house!
* This used be called “keeping your options open.”
* If you want the guy to actually meet up with you, try texting “I really need to get laid!”
* This is different than planking, right? There are so many of these things these days.
* I’ve heard of bunching, but that’s when my thong starts riding up.
* PHONE TOPIC: Have you been “benched”?