Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Love is not complicated anymore, you just need to find an appropriate term that defines your relationship status. From single to not-really-single, Gen Z Couples are still finding clarity in categorising their relationships under this relationship glossary:
1. Situationships: You both have mutual feelings but the commitment is absent since you also have other things to do.
2. Textationship: Liking the idea of sharing ones feeling through DMs but not really liking the physical idea of it.
3. Talking stage: The informal phase of getting to know each other which ends up becoming a ghosting phase.
4. Nanoship: Extremely short, fleeting emotional or romantic connection.
5. Bread-crumbing: the act of sending 'you are my sunshine' text at 2 AM to maintain emotional property rights.
6. Love-bombing: Making one feel valuable just because they're not really valuable? Ouch.
7. Delusionship: A one-sided or imagined “relationship” where one person reads too much into interactions.
These terms help Gen Z describe the Nuances of dating especially in a fast paced world where personalities matter less and the vibe matters more.
Emotion Franchise Owner
Emotion Franchise Owner | AI-Generated
Arham (name changed), a student of business and management shared one such event where one of his friends chose spiritual relocation instead of being ghosted.
"A friend of mine liked a girl who was my friend as well. He got so possessive of her that he started treating me differently. His obsession grew intense, but then the next day I saw him going on a date with someone else."
Arham coded his friends action as an emotional franchise owner where he has multiple outlets but claims premium ownership over one branch.
Possessive Polygamy Lite
Possessive Polygamy Lite | AI-generated
Tanvi (name changed), a student Journalism shared her own experience.
"I was in a relationship with a guy. He genuinely showed interest in and was extremely possessive but then I realised he would talk to multiple girls claiming he was talking to them for Business purposes. " she claims that he labeled their relationship as 'Possessive Polygamy Lite' where he wants you loyal but wants options for himself and calls it 'networking.'
Another story was shared by Vikas (Name changed) a student of medicine where he allegedly liked a girl but she had other ideas in mind.
Open Relationship
Open Relationship | AI-generated
"Pooja(name changed) and I were friends since high school. My feelings grew for her when we started studying in the same university. I even confessed my feelings and she seemed interested in taking it forward. So one day I asked her out and she said yes but her affection came with a deal, she did not want the public to know that she was dating and that the nature of our relationship will be open."
Though Vikas was deeply affected by this, it truly shows the different concepts of relationship perceived by the Gen Z.
Maybe Gen-Z didn’t complicate love. Maybe they just turned emotional confusion into a startup model.
Some are in relationships. Some are in situationships.
And some are apparently in business meetings with excellent Wi-Fi and suspiciously good lighting.
Either way, before you catch feelings — make sure you’re not just part of someone’s expansion plan.
