Have you been birdboxing?
No, we don’t mean driving around a city blindfolded à la Sandra Bullock in the Netflix film, we mean birdboxing when it comes to dating.
‘Birdboxing’ is when someone is blind to (or just ignores) the bad points of the person they’re dating. In small amounts, this can be a good thing – nobody’s perfect after all. The problem comes when you’re ignoring big issues. Someone who answers the phone on a first date may be impolite, but it’s not an unforgiveable faux pas. Someone who always texts when they’re with you and never actually looks at you while you’re talking – maybe not such a great thing to ignore.
So why would anyone want to birdbox?
Quite simply, from a fear of missing out. A partner in the hand and all that… It’s still a bad idea, though. If you know that a relationship isn’t right, isn’t it better to move on and find a good partner for you? Why waste time with the wrong person?
But what if it’s your friend and not you who’s birdboxing?
Well, it may not be pleasant, and you can drop hints that they may not be the best person for their happiness, but probably better not to tell them to break up with their partner. They almost certainly won’t thank you for it. Better to be there for them if/when it comes apart.
