Throning is the romance-as-PR play: choosing (or being chosen by) someone because their glow-up by association raises your stock. The dynamic looks shiny from the outside—events, access, the “look at us” of it all—but intimacy gets replaced by optics. Yahoo’s explainer traces throning as dating for clout: pedestal first, personhood second. If the relationship only feels good when there’s an audience, you’re not in love, you’re in marketing. And for an eye-rolled reality check on the same trend, VICE clocks it as dating someone to “increase your reputation and ego.”

Quiet test to run: If nobody could see us, would I still want this? If the answer’s no, it’s not chemistry, it’s clout. (And clout is hungry; it won’t feed you back.)

Snowmanning is cuffing season’s colder cousin: a cozy sprint into “something” for the holidays and long nights—followed by a spring melt. VICE defines it plainly: rushing into a winter relationship, then dropping it when the lights come down. If both people are truly aligned on “seasonal, light, and safe,” fine; named casual can be kind. But if one person is hoping the temporary will turn permanent, that’s not a plan—that’s a plot twist you wrote alone.

A good filter is clarity: say what it is at the start, and watch if behavior matches the label when March shows up. (Fog is not a love language.)

Swiping fatigue has a counter-move, and it’s everywhere: AI-assisted matchmaking. Boutique players are pitching “fewer, better intros” (see Three Day Rule’s Tai), startups are blending human screens with algorithms (Sitch), and even big platforms are nudging you toward pre-vetted pairings (Facebook Dating’s AI assistant + Meet Cute). The culture headline isn’t “new apps!” It’s dating trying to outsource the wobble—that shaky part where you decide what you want and risk saying it out loud.

Our read: AI can narrow the room, but it shouldn’t narrate your desire. Use it like a sommelier—helpful curation, not destiny. If you don’t know your pace, your deal-breakers, or your why-now, any tool will just reflect your confusion back to you with nicer UX.

Three questions to keep you grounded:

Helpful tech is great. Agency is hotter.

The antidote to trend-chasing isn’t austerity; it’s naming your tempo and letting the wrong people opt out early. Text the thing. Make the plan. Ask the real question. If someone calls your clarity “pressure,” they’re telling you about their capacity, not your worth. The culture will keep spinning out labels; you don’t have to live by them.

xoxo,
Team Necterine