Gaslighting, Ghosting, Trolling And Other Social Media Terms

You might know about gaslighting and ghosting, but do you know about the other social media terms that people are using? There are dozens of digital manipulative terms used on social media that you should know.

Here is an alphabetical list of social media terms that will help you identify and avoid them because most of them are unhealthy.

Benching: Keeping partners at disposal just in case they are needed until someone better comes along.

Blocking: Blocking someone on social media is a modern-day boundary-setting mechanism, often seen as a decisive step in managing online interactions.

Breadcrumbing: Sending sporadic messages to keep someone interested without committing. It is a fake online relationship with just enough information to keep someone close.

READ a detailed article about Breadcrumbing.

Cancel Culture: Withdrawing support for public figures or companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable.

Catfishing: Creating a fake identity online to deceive others.

Character Assassination: Spreading false information to damage someone's reputation.

Clapback: Responding negatively to what someone has posted on social media in an attempt to shut down the original remark. A clapback is a witty retort to an insult or other negative comment, used to roast or shut down the original commenter.

Cyberbullying: Intimidating or humiliating someone through social media posts.

Digital Retaliation: Using online platforms to respond negatively to a breakup.

Doxxing: Publicly revealing someone's private information online without their consent.

Floodlighting: Sharing too much deep trauma or personal information too fast, in a way that overwhelms rather than connects.

FOMO: Acronym for "Fear of Missing Out." Anxiety over missing social events or experiences.

Future Faking : Talking about shared dreams to gain trust without meaning it. It may sound like love, but it’s a lie. Future faking manipulates hope. It builds attachment without follow-through.

Gaslighting: A form of emotional abuse where the abuser manipulates someone into doubting their reality. Gaslighting causes someone to question their own perceptions and self-worth.

Ghosting: Refers to abruptly cutting off contact with someone without giving that person any warning or explanation. It is disappearing without a word or haunting someone from a distance. Ghosting leaves the other person confused and hurt.

Hacking: Gaining unauthorized access to someone's accounts and then exploiting their unauthorized personal data for gain.

Influencer: A person who has the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others due to their authority or popularity on social media.

Lovebombing: An abuser bombards their partner with presents, attention, affection, compliments, extensive texting, emails, messages on social media, phone calls, constant flirting, and love notes to the point that victims are overwhelmed by the attention, but also drawn to it.

Meme: A humorous image, video, or text that is copied and spread rapidly by internet users.

Online Harassment: Targeting an ex-partner with abusive or threatening messages.

Orbiting: Continuing to interact with someone’s online presence while refusing real communication.

Public Shaming: Exposing personal details to embarrass or humiliate someone.

Revenge Porn: Sharing sexually explicit images or videos without the subject’s consent, typically by an ex-partner. The intention behind distributing such material is to harm or embarrass the subject.

Scam: An attempt to defraud a person by giving them misleading information to gain their trust.

Social Media Revenge: A general term for retaliatory actions taken online.

Spam: Also known as junk mail, it is unsolicited advertisements and other unwanted mail sent to individuals without their permission.

Spilling the Tea: Posting your own secrets or other people's secrets on social media.

Stonewalling: Shutting down instead of talking things out. It’s the silent treatment with a twist during conflict to avoid discomfort. It sends the message that your partner’s feelings don’t matter.

Subtweeting: Mentioning someone indirectly on Twitter, often to criticize or comment on them without tagging.

Trauma Dumping: Releasing unprocessed trauma onto someone without warning or consent to gain attention and sympathy.

Trolling: Deliberately provoking others online for amusement by posting inflammatory or off-topic messages.

Unfriend and Unfollow: Unfriending or unfollowing someone on social media can be a reasonable action if maintaining that connection is causing negativity or making you feel bad about yourself.

PLEASE COMMENT

Feel free to comment and add other terms that the writer might have missed in this article.