Dating Down: The 'Shrekking' Trend and Its Emotional Pitfalls

• The 'Shrekking' trend involves intentionally choosing partners perceived as less likely to reject or leave, often driven by fear of abandonment.
• This strategy challenges traditional 'dating up' norms, with many seeing it as a survival tactic against modern dating disappointments like ghosting.
• Psychologists warn that relationships built on perceived power imbalance or fear rarely foster genuine emotional intimacy and can lead to resentment.
• Emotional safety cannot be engineered through partner selection alone; true security comes from self-awareness, trust, and open communication.
• Healthy relationships require vulnerability, mutual respect, and shared values, rather than calculated emotional safety or social hierarchy.