Orbit the Ghost

Online dating is a common method of meeting someone new, especially for people in their twenties. From Tinder to Grindr to Match.com to Christian Mingle, online dating comes in many forms.

One of the most common problems with it, however, is the idea of “ghosting.” Ghosting refers to the apparent disappearance of an online match. Typically, the person who is ghosting loses interest and cuts off contact with the person on the other end of the app.

While this can be frustrating, it is generally preferable to the other potential, now known as “orbiting.”

Orbiting is when someone observes a potential or previous match’s social media, without interacting with it. Often, this means scrolling down someone’s Instagram to a photo from 114 weeks ago, or figuring out their mom’s best friend’s cousin’s dog’s chew toy’s name.

A common debate in modern society is whether or not social media use is beneficial or harmful.

While social media allows people to form unlikely connections, stay in touch over distances, and generally be entertained, it also has a lot of negative implications.

For example, anyone can have access to your whereabouts at any given moment. Technology has advanced so much that we likely would have no idea if someone was tracking our phones or laptops.

This also allows for orbiting.

Orbiting is commonly done by people interested in the person they orbit, or an ex.