A new season of Love Island has dropped onto our screens for us to enjoy, or cringe at, depending on how you feel about the divisive reality show.
Set in South Africa, Maya Jama has taken over as host of the winter version of the show. 10 new islanders arrived in the villa this week – as well as three ‘bombshells’ set to stir things up.
As per usual, viewers can expect a lot of beachwear, slang, and drama from this season. But what dating trends should we be on the lookout for?
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Benching
Benching refers to when you have a back-up person, in addition to the person you’re actually dating. Tina Wilson, Wingman founder and dating expert, said: "There is another person you would happily start a relationship with if the current one doesn’t work out. The Islanders will have to navigate benching in front of one another.”
Scrumming
Scrumming is a trend of organising a group date as opposed to a one-on-one. Hayley Quinn, a dating expert from Match, said: “A one-on-one date can be stressful for some: meeting a stranger for the first time and breaking the ice with awkward conversation can make it difficult to navigate how you really feel about a person.
“To avoid this and keep the act of dating fun, we’ve seen a trend of singles arranging dates with other couples. Helping to break the barrier of first-date embarrassment and creating an environment where they can see their dates interact in a group set up, group dates make it easier to assess compatibility.”
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Hesidating
Hesidating is, unsurprisingly, a term used to refer to people who show some hesitancy in dating. This trend could mean that fewer Islanders are so quick to jump into commitments in their couples, compared with previous years, although Quinn points out there is usually a mix of hesitant and not in each series.
Quinn said: “Taking it slow is no novel approach to dating, but singles today are implementing an extra layer of patience in their dating life. As the slow movement has spread across many aspects of our day-to-day experience, singles take each date and encounter with caution, ensuring their time is kept precious and only used for those they really care about. ”
Cannonballing
This is the opposite of hesidating, cannonballing is the new term for committing quickly. Quinn said: “We’ve had too many years of ghosting and breadcrumbing – singles are fed up with idle daters.
“They’re ready to cut to the chase and dive into the deep end with their potential partner. Gone is intermittent, endless messaging and going to great lengths to postpone dates. Now people are taking a more direct approach, prioritising meeting others quicker than ever before to ensure no time is wasted.”
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