In This Article
Orbiting. The pattern in which someone who has ghosted (cut off direct contact) continues to engage with their target's social-media presence by viewing stories, liking posts, or otherwise remaining digitally adjacent. The contact is one-way and visible, and provides no opportunity for closure.
Where the term comes from
The term was coined by Anna Iovine for Man Repeller in 2018 and entered broad dating-discourse usage within months. It is structurally a follow-on term to ghosting, naming the specific failure mode where the ghost remains visible from a distance.
How it shows up in real life
A relationship ended by ghosting four months ago. Both parties moved on, or seemed to. Then one of them notices that the ghost has been viewing every Instagram story they have posted for two weeks. There has been no message. There is no message coming. The orbiter is present without being present, and the asymmetry is by design: the orbiter can monitor without giving any signal that can be responded to.
Common misuses
Mutual social-media presence between two people who follow each other and occasionally see each other's content is not orbiting. The pattern requires the asymmetry: a prior cut of direct contact, followed by continued one-way digital engagement. People who follow each other and engage normally are not orbiting; they are following each other.
