These days, dating sounds less like an attempt to find true love and more like a cut-throat, multi-player game that requires both strategy and skill to level up and win a limited set of prizes that apparently everyone wants.
Legend has it that once upon a time, lovers crossed oceans, started wars, and renounced thrones to be with the someone they saw once across a room (and instantly became obsessed with). But now, people are more likely to squeeze two potential love interests 1.5 hours apart at the same drinking establishment on the same night of the week–an example of the strategy commonly known as stacking.
Stacking, throning, & banksying: A taxonomy of dating trends
If you think the practice of scheduling back-to-back dates in the name of time management is a rather unromantic approach to modern love, the internet is awash with alternative strategies to try on your quest. There’s throning, which involves using your partner to level up one way or another, whether it’s via their follower count, height, money, or looks. Even more brutal may be banksying , which involves driving your partner insane by slowly pulling away for no apparent reason before the relationship…
