Breadcrumbing

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In the context of interpersonal relationships, breadcrumbing is the practice of sporadically feigning interest in another person in order to keep them interested, despite lacking genuine investment in a relationship. It is regarded as a type of manipulation and can be either deliberate or unintentional. Breadcrumbing is most common in romantic contexts, particularly with the surge of online dating. Breadcrumbing is an antisocial dating behavior, similar to ghosting. It is referred to by this name because it involves giving a romantic interest a trail of "breadcrumbs", small bits of intermittent communication, to keep them interested without committing to a serious relationship. This is intended to give the 'breadcrumbee' (the receiver) false hope so that they will remain invested. Breadcrumbs might include randomly liking posts or sending flirtatious messages, and require little effort from the "breadcrumber" (the sender), and will often involve a demonstration and then withdrawal of interest...

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