User:Natverber/sandbox/Orbiting

Orbiting is an English term used colloquially and its meaning is closely related to ghosting. While ghosting is a common social practice today, in which basically a person who is in a relationship with another abandons them without leaving any trace, orbiting is the 'little brother of ghosting'. It occurs in love and friendship relationships, in which one wants to stop having an intimate relationship. However, contact is not completely lost, since the one who 'abandons' continue to show signs to the other, especially through social media. They may even interact with the abandoned one, but in a very superficial way, such as liking their posts or viewing their stories, but not replying to any direct message or taking their calls.

Anna Lovine, who coined the expression, explained the trend as the following: the orbiter keeps you "close enough to see each other; far enough never to talk". The word appeared for the first time as a pre-selection for the World of the Year 2018 in Oxford, in which orbiting is defined as "the action of abruptly withdrawing from direct communication with someone while still monitoring, and sometimes responding to, their activity on social media".