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= Breadcrumbing = Breadcrumbing, also called Hansel and Grettelling (9), is a colloquial term used to characterize the practice of sporadically feigning interest in another person in order to keep them interested, despite a true lack of investment in the relationship. It is regarded as a type of manipulation and can be either deliberate or unintentional. Breadcrumbing can occur in familial relationships, friendships, and the workplace, but it is more prevalent in romantic contexts, particularly with the surge of online dating. In this context, breadcrumbing is an antisocial dating behaviour similar to ghosting (2).The term refers to when you give a romantic interest a trail of breadcrumbs, small bits of intermittent communication, to keep them interested but without committing to a proper relationship (1). This sends mixed signals and gives the breadcrumbie (the receiver) false hope (5). Breadcrumbs might include randomly liking posts or sending messages, can come from current or former romantic interests and require little effort from the breadcrumber (the sender) 1.

Breadcrumbers start a relationship by showing interest in their partner by flirting and demonstrating pretentious behaviour, for example by saying ‘I love you’ too soon but then suddenly change their behaviour – spending less time with their partner and avoiding talking about their relationship status indicating a withdrawal of interest (5).

Whereas with ghosting the aim is to end the relationship, breadcrumbing’s goal is to stop a relationship from progressing by not committing to it (1) and according to Stanley’s theory of commitment these are not the same (5, 26). This theory splits commitment into two different constructs: personal dedication and constraint commitment. Personal dedication encompasses an individuals drive to progress a relationship, something that may be lacking for breadcrumbers, and commitment constraint involves pressures that force a relationship to be sustained such as financial consequences, which are also not present in breadcrumbing (5,26) explaining why commitment is lacking in relationships with breadcrumbing.

Why do people breadcrumb?
Research has found that some of the main reasons people breadcrumb are because they want attention, do not want to be alone and have low self-esteem (5). Willis and colleagues found that these reasons are linked to personality traits with certain types of people being more likely to breadcrumb including those who score highly on vulnerable narcissism and hold Machiavellianism views (2). It is suggested that as vulnerable narcissists want attention and approval from others, in order to increase their self-esteem (13), breadcrumbing instead of committing to or ending the relationship is a way for them to fulfill these needs (2). Those with Machievliism views see other people as dishonest and gullible which to them justifies the idea that they can be manipulated and taken advantage of (14,15) perhaps through breadcrumbing.

Breadcrumbing and having an avoidant or anxious attachment style are also linked (6). One characteristic of someone with an avoidant attachment style is keeping a distance from romantic interests to avoid intimacy (6,7) and breadcrumbing is a way to do this. Those with anxious attachment styles seek validation and by leaving gaps between breadcrumbs the breadcrumber may hope their partner will pursue them, trying to get their attention, hence giving them that validation (6). They also demonstrate push and pull behaviours in relationships: they want intimacy but at the same time are scared of being rejected so push their partner away, similar to the process of breadcrumbing (6). However, vulnerable narcissism and Machievallism are also linked to insecure attachment styles (16, 17) which suggests these Dark Triad traits and participating in breadcrumbing may all be consequences of having an insecure attachment style rather than them having a causal relationship of their own.

These insecure attachment styles in adults are suggested to be influenced by negative caregiving experiences during childhood such as having a parent with depression, however there is only a small correlation between these, and many exceptions have been discovered so other factors such as genetics are also suggested to play a part (18). Although insecure attachment styles are linked to mental health problems (21) and negative behaviours such as breadcrumbing it is suggested that they in fact had evolutionary benefits. One such theory by Ein-Dor and colleagues called Social Defense Theory is that by having a range of attachment styles it meant individuals in a group would react to danger in different ways increasing the likeliness of the group overcoming and surviving those threats (20). However, this theory has been subjected to criticisms such as that it lacks evidence and does not take into account all aspects of insecure attachments (19) but does offer an explanation as to why insecure attachments are so prevalent which in turn might explain why the occurrence of breadcrumbing is not that rare with 35.6% of people being found to have experiencing it (9).

Psychological consequences
As breadcrumbing is persistent and communication does not just end, unlike with ghosting, it can be more painful for breadcrumbies and increase their healing process (10). Subsequently, those who experience breadcrumbing have lower life satisfaction and feel lonelier (1). Breadcrumbies go on to have trust issues, reduced self-esteem and feel insecure, jealous and angry. This could have severe consequences for their mental and physical health with some breadcrumbies facing depression, exhaustion and skin problems after being breadcrumbed (5). Breadcrumbing has also been found to sometimes occur simultaneously with gaslighting for example if the breadcrumber implys the breadcrumbie is at fault (5) which in turn has its own lasting emotional consequences (22).

Dealing with breadcrumbing
However, research has shown that there are effective ways that people deal with being breadcrumbed that may help them avoid these psychosocial consequences. These include, working on yourself for example by spending time doing things you enjoy, redirecting your focus away from the relationship and starting another relationship (5). One particularly common approach is reaching out to others. Social support has been shown to reduce the effects of stress on depression and anxiety (23,24) and has been associated with increased happiness (25) as having other people who care about you stops you feeling isolated (5). On the other hand, research has also found that one ineffective way of dealing with being breadcrumbed can sometimes be to start breadcrumbing other people (5).

Criticisms
As breadcrumbing is a relatively new concept there is not extensive research into its causes and consequences. Most studies looking into these have taken place in Spain, although Khattar and colleagues did compare breadcrumbing in Spain to India and found that India had higher breadcrumbing rates (6). This may be because a collectivist, tighter culture like India places higher importance on interdependence and has a stronger adherence to norms (27,28) and the relative anonymity that comes with online interactions (11) may allow people to follow these norms less (29). However, this is just one study and further research is needed to see if there are cross-cultural differences in breadcrumbing and why.