An expert has explained why people need to be wary of latest toxic 'vulturing' dating trend taking the internet by storm.
OK - unless you've been living under a rock, we've all heard about the dreaded 'Ben stage', the frustrations of bread-crumbing, the obsession with 'alphabet' dating and even the chaos of getting 'zombied', but a far more darker dating trend has just entered the chat.
Now, there are a bunch of bad dating trends - see 'phubbing' and 'submarining' - that singletons are unfortunately facing at the moment but it's clear 'vulturing' is by far one of the worst out there.
Now, to get to the bottom of the dating trend - we must first take a little look into the weird and wonderful world of the animal kingdom.
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Now, in the animal world, vultures are known for scavenging and feeding on whatever is left behind.
And in the equally frenzied world of dating - it's clear that human vultures aren't much different at all and no one wants to become prey to a vulture.
Even of the metaphorical variety...
Jessica Alderson, a relationship expert and co-founder of So Synced, revealed some key information singletons should arm themselves with should they ever be graced with the sort.
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She told Stylist: "The term 'vulturing' in the dating world refers to a situation where someone is waiting to swoop in when someone’s relationship ends with the goal of becoming romantically involved with the newly single person."
The expert continued to explain that 'vulturing' is also inherently 'predatory behaviour'.
"[It] takes advantage of someone who is emotionally vulnerable after a breakup," Alderson warned.
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According to the expert, dating vultures manage to find sneaky ways of getting close to you either just before or during a breakup.
This can sometimes masquerade in the form of offering a shoulder to cry on or an outlet to vent to.
"After the breakup, they leverage the connection they have built over time and use it to take advantage of their friend’s weakened state," Alderson added.
In short, it's a whole bunch of emotional exploitation which can often lead the person facing the brunt of it to be psychological impacted.
Alderson continued: "Being pursued by someone who is exploiting your emotional vulnerability after a breakup can be incredibly damaging to your mental health.
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"It can be hard to identify that you are being 'vultured' because it often happens in a subtle, manipulative way."
Not only is being 'vultured' a massive faff - but it can also make the whole breakup process way harder than it needs to be.
"It’s essential to take the time to process breakups and work through the emotions that come with them. But, in order to do this, you need space," the expert advised.
"'Vulturing' not only detracts from this space, but it also actively prevents healing by adding more emotional turmoil to an already difficult situation."
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Vultures - we're on to you!
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock ImagesTopics: Sex and Relationships, TikTok, Mental Health