Breadcrumbing

Definition

Sending occasional flirty messages or likes to keep someone interested, with no real intention of meeting or committing.

Contents · 4 sections
  1. Signs
  2. Example
  3. How to react
  4. How to avoid doing it

Breadcrumbing means dropping small bits of attention, just enough to keep someone hoping, without ever following through. The messages are friendly, sometimes flirty, but the date never happens and the relationship never moves forward.

It sits between ghosting and a real connection: the person does not disappear, but does not really show up either.

Signs

  • Contact comes in bursts: a “thinking of you” or a like on your photo, then days of nothing.
  • Vague plans such as “we should do something soon” that never turn into a day and time.
  • Messages are warm but stay on the surface, and she or he rarely asks anything about you.
  • You are the one who always has to start the conversation or make the plan.

Not everyone who does this is playing a game. Some people are unsure what they want, busy, or poor at texting. The behaviour is the same for you either way.

Read nextOrbiting

Example

Her: Hey stranger, I was just thinking about you :)

You: Nice to hear from you! Free for a drink Thursday?

Her: Thursday is crazy. Let’s catch up soon!

(two weeks of silence, then a like on your story)

How to react

  • Ask for a concrete plan. “Saturday at 7, the wine bar on Main Street?” A person who is interested says yes or suggests another time. A breadcrumber stays vague.
  • Judge actions, not words. If nothing becomes real within a week or two, treat it as a no.
  • Stop being the only one who invests. Answer when it suits you, and don’t build your day around a notification.
  • Say it once. “I’d like to actually meet. If that’s not what you want, no hard feelings.”

Waiting for someone who shows IOIs only in text form is a fast way to slip into neediness. Stay active in your dating life instead, for example with Tinder openers that aim straight at a date.

How to avoid doing it

If you are not interested in meeting someone, don’t keep them warm “just in case”. Be clear, or let the conversation end.

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