The Science of Mating

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Grim keeping in dating is when you connect romantically with someone over shared dislikes rather than likes.

It can help you connect with each other by allowing for mutual validation and support, and more authenticity.

Grim keeping can lead to dwelling too much in the negative and the wrong relationship dynamics.

Be mindful of how much time you spend in the negative as opposed to the positive, and do what feels right.

You may have heard it said that there is a thin line between love and hate. Well, what's been dubbed "grim keeping" is about forming a direct line between hate and love when dating.

That's because grim keeping is when you connect romantically with someone over shared dislikes rather than likes. I already mentioned this term briefly in "A Funny Bone to Pick" back when I did a rundown of five different dating trends for 2025. Grim keeping may be keeping with the times since these days it seems like a lot of people are bonding over complaining about the current state of society.

There are certainly things to like about sharing dislikes. You can garner some real positives from the negatives. But the grim reality is that you've got to be wary about the potential negatives of being, well, too negative.

The Advantages of Grim Keeping

First the positives. Grim keeping can be very effective at building connection because it plays into some typical human tendencies. One of these tendencies is to prioritize identifying and dealing with threats above all else, natural programming that has helped humans survive threats like lions, floods, sweater vests, and fruitcakes........

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