Celebrities always manage to keep us guessing. Remember when Justin Bieber posted about love and forgiveness, even if he didn’t deserve it? More recently, Britney Spears deleted her Instagram account after several concerning yet vague posts.

It’s not only celebrities who make cryptic posts on social media. A friend might share a photo with the caption, “People forget who was there for them”. Social media researchers call this practice vaguebooking.

“It’s when someone posts an intentionally vague message on social media that is designed to elicit questions or attention without fully divulging what’s wrong,” said Sanam Hafeez, a neuropsychologist and founder of Comprehend the Mind. “This behaviour is so common, but it’s not the healthiest way of communicating.”

If you come across these posts, you might wonder if you should respond or keep scrolling. Below, experts discuss the signs of vaguebooking, why people engage in this behaviour, and how to address it.

There are a few ways to recognise vaguebooking

People commonly share life updates on social media, from birthday celebrations to job losses. An example of vaguebooking is posting a picture of your dog with the caption “prayers needed”. By omitting information about your dog’s condition, you might be hoping for someone to ask what’s wrong.

Similar to sadfishing, vaguebooking involves attention-seeking, but it’s often low on detail and context. “These posts are highly ambiguous yet personal and often occur after a romantic breakup or friendship fallout,” said Jenny Woo, Harvard-trained emotional intelligence researcher and founder/CEO of Mind Brain Emotion.

The person who is vaguebooking may not be comfortable sharing the entire story. So, they’ll hint at a breakup by posting, “I’m done being taken for granted.” Or they’ll use inspirational language to hide an insult, such as “I’m cutting toxic people out of my life because I deserve better,” Woo said.

Often, these posts leave recipients wondering what happened and how they can help, said Sofie Roos, licensed sexologist, relationship........

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