6 Toxic Dating Trends That Gen Z Loved in 2022
Introducing the Villain Era, FODA, Mastermind and more.
2022 was an eventful year for the dating pool as dating apps fizzled out, people started meeting up IRL and inflation annihilated any chance of a cute date. Especially after the pandemic, Gen Z lost precious years of their 20s and with this new, time crunch of a perspective on life, they’re choosing themselves.
Here are 2022’s top toxic dating trends everyone cosigned in 2022.
Villain Era
If you’ve survived 2022 without hearing this term, you’re welcome. Entering your villain era is a sign of choosing yourself, and gladly being the bad guy if the world wants you to be. Thankfully, this era received a gradual makeover and women turned it into a lifestyle of finding their authentic selves, and only engaging in things that elevate them. Toxic boyfriend? Gotta go.
Mastermind-ing.
Taylor Swift‘s latest album, Midnights, blessed Swifties with a new trend inspired by her song “Mastermind.” Truthfully one of the most unhinged pop culture moments, women hopped on this trend to share stories of how they “masterminded” their way into d-ck. Or, we can call it what it really is, manipulation at extreme levels.
@lyssielooloowattpad story fr♬ Mastermind – Taylor Swift
Are We Sharing Boyfriends?
This trend was by far one of 2022’s messiest dating trends where women who are dating someone new, join local Facebook groups and ask if they’re sharing boyfriends. Apparently, women’s intuition is having the longest streak of success because thousands of women worldwide got the truth they were looking for this year.
Age Gap Dating.
Age gap dating was another one of 2022’s most controversial trends. Between Leonardo DiCaprio’s love for 20-year-olds and Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford’s relationship, Gen Z and millennials have ample debate material on grooming, age gaps and victim blaming.
FODA and Hesidating.
After the pandemic, fear of dating again, aka FODA became the norm as people were afraid of more change and honestly, more socially anxious. Now, FODA isn’t the issue — but it is the starting point. When hesitant people put themselves out there and begin dating, they exhibit toxic, harmful behaviors like ghosting when the relationship gets more intimate. Dating expert, Maria Sullivan, shared, “In the mind of a hesidater, they will typically pull back or seem uncertain when things start to progress in a relationship due to their own internal struggle when it comes to making decisions.”
Love Bombing.
Millennials once absolutely gagged at love bombing and women thanked psychologists for dropping this tea. But according to the current state of social media, many feel it’s difficult to spot this toxic trend because, well… who wouldn’t fall in love with them that easily?
love bombing works for me 🤷🏻♀️ like I know bb I’m everything u wanted & more
— :* (@falsepositiv3) December 22, 2022
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