{"id":17443,"date":"2018-09-21T01:00:06","date_gmt":"2018-09-21T08:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/datemixstaging.wpengine.com\/?p=17443"},"modified":"2021-05-31T11:00:06","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T18:00:06","slug":"what-does-benching-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/dating-advice\/what-does-benching-mean\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does Benching Mean? Here’s Your Definition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Keeping up with dating trends, terms, and expressions is not for the faint of heart. It\u2019s hard enough to date, let alone memorize everything everyone is saying about the dating world. If you\u2019re wondering what benching, the newest dating term means, we\u2019ve got you covered. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is benching?
\n<\/b>If you aren\u2019t crazy about someone, but you also believe they have potential to be a great partner and don\u2019t want to burn your bridges, you\u2019re benching.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever hung out with someone a handful of times and you think they\u2019re super nice and cute, but you just can\u2019t get into the relationship? Limbo is a hard place to live in, but we\u2019ve all been there. Benching is the term used for when you put someone into your \u201cI\u2019ll come back to this\u201d category. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is it different from ghosting?
\n<\/b>Ghosting is the phenomenon of people completely cutting off all communication with the person they\u2019re dating. If you\u2019ve been dating someone and all of a sudden, they seemingly cease to exist, you\u2019ve been ghosted. Ghosting can also refer to when you\u2019re chatting with someone on a dating app and they suddenly unmatch you and disappear.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With benching, you don\u2019t cut off communication with the other person. Benching is more of a \u201cwe\u2019ll circle back to this later\u201d approach to dating. There may someone better for you out there somewhere, but you don\u2019t want to completely close the door on this person either.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And ya, it\u2019s a pretty horrible thing to do to someone. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can you do if you\u2019re benched?
\n<\/b>If you are the one being benched, note the behavior and call the person out on it. It\u2019s important to be on the same page. If you\u2019re dating other people and want to keep this particular person as an option, that\u2019s great. But if the feeling isn\u2019t mutual, it\u2019s important to know. If you like this person and want to be with them, you deserve more than wondering when they\u2019ll be ready to commit to you. No one deserves to be strung along. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should you do if you\u2019re the bencher?<\/b>
\n<\/span>If you\u2019re the one doing the benching, maybe it\u2019s time for a little self-exploration. The first step is to admit that you\u2019re benching someone. Benching may seem more harmless than ghosting, but the truth is, it can be incredibly hurtful. Dangling the idea of something meaningful in front of someone is really unfair. It\u2019s more than okay to be unsure about committing to a person, but they also deserve the truth. In kinder terms, maybe chat with this person and figure out what each of you wants. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check in with them and figure out what they\u2019re interested in, with you and in general, and acknowledge their needs as well. Maybe they\u2019re also unsure and you two can continue to casually date while seeing other people. Maybe they\u2019re completely in love with you and it\u2019s no longer appropriate to play with their emotions. You\u2019re not a bad person if you are benching someone, but it is also really important to make sure you aren\u2019t toying with another person\u2019s emotions. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benching is a newer term to the lexicon of the dating world, but there\u2019s nothing new about being lead on. If you feel like you\u2019re being lead on, or if you\u2019re the one doing the leading on, you\u2019re familiar with benching. Treat people with more respect than benchers do, and give yourself a little good dating karma. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Benching is a newer term to the lexicon of the dating world, but there\u2019s nothing new about being lead on. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":17444,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[884],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dating-advice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Does Benching Mean? 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