Never date someone called Ben,” cautions a young woman. “Save yourself. If you’re dating a man named Ben, you better run.” Currently dominating relationship videos on TikTok is something known as “The Ben Stage”, an apparently sincere bit of dating advice in which heterosexual women urge other heterosexual women to never, ever date someone named Ben. If they do, the trend claims, they’ll face dire consequences. “My Ben stage put me in therapy,” one person writes in a video comment section. “My Ben stage caused permanent trust issues,” insists another.
Unfortunately for Bens, they’re being connected to bad behaviour in relationships by mere coincidence – and the fact that Benjamin has been a popular baby name every year since 1996 according to the ONS. So, no, Bens aren’t on a mission to wreak havoc on straight women’s dating lives – they just happen to be everywhere. Still, Bens themselves are upset.
