Relationships Talk

In yet another episode of ‘Dodgy Trendy Millennial Dating Terms’, today we bring you: curving. Basically, a way to let someone down through texts suggesting you’d really rather end the conversation than keep it going. But it’s executed so subtly, that if you’re a little naive, you won’t even know it’s happening to you. RIP.

Curvers never initiate the conversation, and their reply texts are emotionless and sporadic. What does this look like? Essentially, they’ll reply to you days later (i.e the dreaded “Sorry, just been so busy lately”), and they’ll never ask any questions to ensure they don’t get a reply back (i.e. “great”, “sounds good”, “nothing much”). Chronic curvers keep others holding on juuuust in case the next best thing comes along.

“They don’t want to talk to them but they don’t know how to end it,” dating coach James Preece told The Independent.

Although it may sound innocent, and a simple case of being stuck in a sticky situation, Preece thinks it’s just as cruel as ghosting (aka when the other person suddenly vanishes off the face of the earth after making contact).

“It’s easier to have short, boring interactions rather than directly state they don’t want to see them. This is a lack of respect and only leaves the other person feeling sad and confused.” Agreed.

“Deep down, they know that the other person isn’t that interested, but they still hold out hope,” Preece continued. “They convince themselves that they are just having a bad day/week/month. If they can say the right thing they’ll magically become keen again.”

Bottom line: don’t string someone along. Suck it up, be a man (or woman), and show some damn R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

For more dating advice, this is how your attachment style could be sabotaging your love life. Plus, this is how to tell if someone is into you in less than 2 minutes flat.