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What Is Orbiting in Dating? When “Ghosting” Leads to an Online Orbiter

Dating in the current social media world is tricky. Imagine you’re dating someone and, one day, they suddenly cut off all direct and meaningful communication with you. Sounds a bit like ghosting, right? Well, say they break it off but, all the while, continue to engage with you more subtly on social media. Long-term relationships that end in a break up come with even more social media fallout. And this all relates to a common phenomenon in today’s digital (dating) age known as orbiting. 

Your ex may no longer be actively commenting on your photos or sliding into your DMs, but maybe they like your posts, view your TikTok uploads, or continue to engage with you in other superficial ways on a regular basis. It’s possible they’re seeing your content thanks to those pesky algorithms. And, maybe, they’re interacting with your socials in good faith. Still, it can sting. Not to mention, maybe you’re also being fed their posts and photos, making it harder to move on post-breakup or ghosting. 

Orbiting is certainly a newer dating occurrence — something we’re just starting to put a finger on. Now that we’ve named it, though, let’s delve into everything you need to know about orbiting and how the trend might be impacting your mental health. 

What Is Orbiting?

Orbiting in dating is when you cut off direct contact with the person you’re dating but continue to engage with their content on social media. It’s been dubbed “the new ghosting,” and, following an essay by Anna Iovine in 2018, gained more momentum in the pop-culture discourse. 

Maybe you haven’t been the orbiter, but have found yourself being orbited. No matter the case, orbiting generally stems from a person’s desire to keep a former romantic partner or ex in their “social orbit.” Engaging in orbiting can make you feel closer to your ex, which can ultimately lead to some real pitfalls and toxic behavior.

For example, an orbiter can track who their ex has been with and where they’ve traveled. Mostly, orbiting gives the perpetrator a fake sense of comfort — the feeling that their former lover is still on their radar. 

The concept of orbiting is gaining tremendous popularity, especially online, because of the increased interconnectedness between dating apps and social media. As a result, many people experience a situation where they’re ghosted — or one of the partner’s calls it off after a few dates — only to find they’re still very much connected.

Because of the interconnectedness of it all, social media platforms might suggest you follow your now-ex or serve you their content because you still follow each other and, presumably, once talked a lot. Not to mention, if you’ve ended things with a Tinder date, there’s no guarantee that you won’t stumble upon them on Hinge or Bumble, too. 

Multiple studies show that social media boosts the brain’s feel-good chemicals, all while providing a false sense of intimacy. For instance, using social media for just 10 minutes increases oxytocin levels by 13% , causing you to feel happier. A “like” on Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat can be exciting when it comes from a crush or someone you’re actively dating, but the same form of interaction can feel extremely confusing, uncomfortable and infuriating when it comes from an ex. 

So, Why Do People Orbit?

Orbiters do what they do for a variety of reasons, but Iovine, the author of the 2018 article on the topic, suggests three theories for why someone would suddenly end direct communication and still maintain a social media presence and connection. The first theory? It’s a power move. Psychologists suggest that maintaining a presence on somebody’s social media profile is a diplomatic measure. It’s a way of letting them know you’re on good terms.

Maybe you’ve stayed friends with distant relatives or old friends on social media, despite differing opinions and interests, just for the sake of smoother sailing, but, when it comes to dating, it’s not so simple. According to The Daily Beast ’s Taylor Lorenz, an orbiter might be deploying this so-called “power move” in order to keep the door open with an ex. 

But that’s just one of three reasons for orbiting. Iovine suggests that someone can orbit because they lack awareness of why that might not be okay. Maybe the orbiter didn’t take the break up as hard and can’t see why cropping up on their ex’s social media would be so hurtful, for example. But staying friends on Facebook or Instagram with an ex is more than just “keeping in touch” — it can feel challenging to untangle your feelings and move on if you’re constantly seeing what the orbiter is up to post your relationship. 

And, finally, an orbiter might start circling you for the fear of missing out . Maybe they don’t feel ready to date you, but they’re concerned that if they were to eliminate you from their orbit completely, they’d miss an opportunity to reconnect later. After all, social media platforms allow for voyeurism and orbiting, at least in this case, is a way to keep tabs on a person the orbiter might want to date in the future. 

Orbiting and Mental Health 

Online dating and the various apps we use can already contribute to poor mental and emotional health. But, in many ways, turning to Tinder might feel like the only way to connect with potential partners. As we’ve noted in other dating discussions , “Match Group, the parent company of popular dating apps like Match, OKCupid, Tinder and Hinge, has seen a reported ‘15% increase in new subscribers’ during 2020.” 

In Online Dating Is a Blessing and a Curse — But Mostly a Curse , Caleb Bailey writes that, “Dating app burnout was on the rise for a myriad of reasons in 2019 BC (Before COVID); verbal, emotional, and sexual harassment were par for the course that year. But once the pandemic hit, online dating became the sole recourse for millions of people around the globe.” So many of us are engaging in online dating, connecting our Instagrams with various dating apps. And that makes the toll all the worse when it comes to break ups and orbiters. 

The relationship between orbiting and mental health has not been widely explored — yet. However, the existing scientific evidence on the phenomenon suggests that it has a negative effect on emotional and psychological well-being.

For instance, orbiting leads to mixed messages. Cutting off communication but keeping tabs on social media is… confusing, right? It raises a lot of questions. If you’re the one who is being orbited, these mixed signals might result in some conflicting feelings . Breaking off communication — no texts or calls — is a common way to help both parties move on after a break up. But keeping that social media presence — and, worse, passively “liking” an ex’s posts — might imply the orbiter does still care. Without a doubt, orbiting makes healing harder. After all, orbiting blurs boundaries and keeps you thinking about the person you’re supposed to be moving on from. 

But it’s not just an orbiter’s direct actions that can mess with you. Sometimes, just seeing their posts pop up in your feed can be troubling. The phrase “no one posts their failures” on social media is true. Instagram users only post their best moments (and best lighting), so, when you get an ex’s highlights, it can lead to some big feelings.

Maybe you’ll feel they’ve curated this near-perfect feed to make you jealous, or, on the other hand, maybe seeing them having fun in the immediate wake of your breakup hurts your self-esteem. Did the relationship mean as much to them if they can seemingly move on so quickly? 

Orbiting can also trigger a psychological response — confirmation bias . If you already hold a certain belief or feel a certain way, for example, searching your ex’s social media profiles for clues to support your perspective could lead you to spiral and ruminate. You might not even realize you’re orbiting someone. After all, taking a quick peek at someone’s social media reveals a lot, but it’s so commonplace that you might justify it as harmless. In reality, orbiting — no matter the intensity — can hurt all parties involved. 

While it may be difficult to avoid orbiting altogether — especially the more passive forms of it like Instagram suggesting you follow an ex time and again — muting your ex could be the best course of action. A full-on blocking might seem intense and unnecessary, but intentionally tuning them out for a bit will likely do wonders for your mental health.

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White Day: A Labyrinth Named School - Ghost Collection Guide

How to find all the paranormal in White Day: A Labyrinth Named School.

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The housemistress, the lying female student, woman in the locker, the tree ghost, the baby's soul, the girl outside the window, the starved ghost, the girl with a hidden face, the library ghost, the kid solving a problem, haunted head ghost, the attendance ghost, the me in the mirror, spider ghost, face filled with hatred, the woman who hanged herself, the mannequin, the mermaid, the grandmother ghost.

There are many ghosts in White Day: A Labyrinth Named School , creeping throughout the Yeondu High school. Some are relics of the past, clinging to the world of living, while others are tethered to the mortal realm, unable to escape due to the dark fate that befell them.

RELATED: White Day: A Labyrinth Named School - Beginner Tips

But, while some ghosts are actively seeking the player, some can be rather difficult to find, requiring specific conditions to be met. To ease your ghost hunting marathon, we have made a detailed guide on how to encounter each ghost.

A hefty chunk of ghosts can be found only while playing on hard mode or higher . Look for the bold text under the specific image to find out if the spirit can be discovered on certain difficulties.

Can be found on hard mode or higher.

The spirit of the Housemistress is a teacher that used to work at Yeondu High School and was known for her harsh punishments.

To find her, look into the second mirror of the Girls' Bathroom on the third floor (Main Building 2). You also need to have a pack of cigarettes on your person, which can be found on top of the cubicle's door frame in the first floor's Boy's Bathroom (Main Building 1).

Upon exiting the bathroom, the ghost will charge you and deal damage. This is going to be a common occurrence if you plan to find all of them.

The Fox Spirit is a ghost that can be encountered in the passageway between Main Building 2 and New Building.

To find her, you simply have to go back from the New Building to the Main Building without having the Spirit Bell in your inventory.

The Lying Female Student is the ghost of a girl that died at the hands of Myeong-ho, who went berserk.

She can be found in the Night Duty Room (Main Building 2), lying on the floor. If you interact with her, she will reappear in Classrooms 3-3 and 3-9 (New Building). Upon interacting with her for the third time, prepare for a jump scare.

Can be found on normal mode or higher.

This ghost of a woman that tragically died in the locked cabinet nowadays haunts the lockers of the Yeondu High School.

To find her, simply wander around different classrooms and open the lockers at random until you encounter the ghost.

The Demon Tree is the first boss you will encounter in White Day: A Labyrinth Named School.

You will find the ghost as you are progressing through main story. To pass this stage of the game, you will need Insect Repellent and Chemical Solvent. Find and destroy all the strange eggs around the Main Building with the solvent, and finally use repellent to kill the weakened tree.

This is a timed event , meaning you have a limited amount of time to complete it. Be careful at the end: using the repellent on the Tree Ghost will trigger a quick time event.

You will encounter the ghost of a child the first time you enter Main Building 2 . This is the second boss of the game, so be prepared for the timed events.

To complete this timed event, you will need to follow the instructions for making a Clay Doll in an Art Mid-Term Exam Guide, found in the Art Room (Main Building 2). The Doll can be found in the Lost & Found room at the start of the timed event.

At one point you will also find the Ownerless Diary , which is worth mentioning if you want to know what triggered the child to remain on the mortal plane.

Can be found on hard mode or higher

To find the ghost of the girl that tragically died in the school pond, you will need to acquire a love letter. It can be found at the top of the stairs near the Main Office (Main Building 1). After that, interact with the hand prints on the hallway's window near the Gym Storage Room (Main Building 1)

You can encounter this ghost by placing a lunchbox in the metal food tray in the School Store (New Building). By placing another lunchbox , you will see a different scene, and she will attack you.

If you cannot trigger the ghost, check if the lights are on.

This one acts as a sort of mini-boss and can be encountered on every difficulty setting . You will find her in the Music Appreciation Room (New Building). If you interact with her , the game of Hide-and-Seek starts.

You have to find her sitting on one of the chairs in the room and use the light emanating from the Yin-Yang token to scare her off. Do that a couple of times, and you will be free to go.

Don't interact with her without the token and don't turn on the lighter if you did.

To find the ghost of a girl that died at Yeondu High, you need to interact with the book on the table in the Reading room (New Building). To trigger her appearance, you will also need to obtain A Report Card , which can be found in one of the lockers in Classroom 2-5 (Main Building 1).

You can encounter Na-hye in Classroom 2-7 (Main Building 1) after obtaining chalk , found on the Blackboard in Classroom 2-8 , and a bloody workbook , found on the floor at the Recording Room Booth (both items are located in Main Building 1).

Also known as the Head Ghost, she's a spirit of a woman that died in a construction accident at the school. She will randomly spawn at Main Buildings 1 and 2 and chase the player.

Don't worry about finding her, she will make herself known.

The Attendance Ghost will charge you upon looking at the attendance book in Classroom 2-11 (Main Building 1). To trigger her, a Gym's Teachers Cap is required , which can be found in the cabinet in the Gym Storage Room.

The Me In The Mirror, also known as the Doppelganger is a ghost you will inevitably encounter in the Dance Studio (New Building). To defeat the ghost, place the speakers symmetrically with their positions in the mirror.

The Spider Ghost is another ghost you will find as you progress through the main story. You can disable her spawn by entering the classes mentioned in the document called New Building's Notice, which can be found in the Faculty Lounge (New Building).

This ghost is one of the easiest ones to find because all you need to do is to hide in the last cubicle at any Main Building 1's bathroom and wait for her.

She is one of the most important ghosts with ties to the main story and different endings. You can encounter her multiple times:

• In the cutscene where Sung-A rushes off , scared by some noise, choose the option " Go where the sound is coming from" .
• You will trigger another cutscene upon approaching a large window at the end of the corridor near the Gym Storage Room (Main Building 1).
• If you walk a few steps away and immediately turn , you will see her for the last time.

A Living Mannequin can be found standing in one of the corners at the Biology Lab (Main Building 2). You need to light the alcohol lamp on one of the tables and drain your stamina by running. After your vision gets dizzy from lack of breath, the mannequin will start walking toward you. To stop him, turn the lamp off.

The Mermaid is a ghost found in the pool on the rooftop near the end of the game. She will swim in the water and drag you down with her, should you fall in the pool. You need to cross the invisible maze using the L-Rods in the locked cabinet at the Occult Clubroom (New Building).

To unlock the cabinet, go to the Earth Science Lab and read the World Time Zones note. After that, find the other clocks with the photos of different capitals near them, and set them to their appropriate time zones. You should set them according to the Greenwich (London) timezone (GMT).

After you successfully navigated the maze, turn the nearest valve to drain the pool, and acquire the water token to progress.

The last ghost on our list, the Grandmother, can be found at the indoor bridge on the 3rd floor of the New Building. When you pass the bridge, there's a chance you will freeze right in the middle. Look around for a short amount of time, and she will jump scare you.

The appearance of the ghost is random , meaning it can take multiple trips through the bridge to trigger her.

NEXT: The Mortuary Assistant: How To Identify A Demon

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This is the main Category for listing and linking all Ghosts found in the games.

All items (42)

• Category:Ghosts exclusive to White Day original
• Category:Ghosts exclusive to White Day Remake

• Music Room Ghost

• Category:Non-harmful Ghosts

• Wood Spirit

White Day: A Labyrinth Named School - 10 Creepiest Ghosts

Many creepy ghosts lurk in the halls of Yeondu High, but these ones will give players the biggest scares.

High school is a nightmare for some, but it's a literal nightmare in White Day: A Labyrinth Named School . Yeondu High is filled with the restless, vengeful spirits that were unlucky enough to have died within its walls.

Hee-Min is forced to face all these ghosts as he tries to escape from the school with his life. There are a lot of different ghosts that haunt the dark halls and empty classrooms of the school. All of them are eerie in their own way, but there are those that are truly creepy .

10 Mannequin

The Mannequin ghost is the most innocuous-looking in the game. It looks like an ordinary anatomy model. It can be found in the Biology Lab on the 2nd floor in the Main building. The Mannequin is one of the ghosts requiring a specific prerequisite to be triggered. It will only attack if the oil lamp on the desk in front of it is lit, and the player is either dizzy or exhausted.

The Mannequin will start to move toward towards the player and will attack if not avoided. The ghost story associated with the Mannequin suggests that the Biology Lab is cursed by the victims of cruel human experiments that were done in the same location, and that the Mannequin is the body of one of the victims.

9 Woman In The Locker

The Woman in the Locker is one of the ghosts that will appear randomly, and she can appear in the lockers of the classrooms in Section 1 of the Main building. She acts as one of the many jump scares in the game, though she doesn't do any damage. For her to appear, the classroom lights must be dark.

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The story associated with this ghost is a tragic tale involving the school once being used as a place of torture. One prisoner was a woman who refused to tell her captives where her husband was, and as punishment, she was forced into a tiny closet that was sealed off with bricks.

8 The Lying Female Student

The Lying Female Student is a ghost that is introduced in the remake. In the mobile version, she has to be met in a specific order to get her entry in the game's Ghost Collection. In the Playstation 4 and PC versions, she will appear in the Night Duty Room in the Main Building, as well as in various New Building classrooms.

She can be avoided if the player doesn't interact with her. However, if they interact with her three times, on the third time she will jump up, scream in their face and deal damage. The Lying Female Student is the ghost of a former student named Ji-hye who was killed by her ex-boyfriend in her homeroom.

7 The Starved Ghost

The Starved Ghost is another ghost that can be avoided and even missed entirely. She's found in the school store in the New Building, behind the counter. There will be an empty lunch tray that the player can interact with and put lunchboxes on. A ghastly-looking hand will quickly reach up to snatch the box away.

In the PC/PS4 version, after setting down two lunchboxes, she will jump up from behind the counter and attack the player, dealing damage. As long as the player doesn't put down the lunchboxes, she will not appear. The story associated with her is about a girl named Young-mee, who starved herself to death.

6 Face Filled With Hatred

The Face Filled with Hatred is another ghost that will only appear under certain conditions. She can appear in any of the bathrooms on the first floor of the Main building, though not the girl's bathroom that Sung-ah and Hee-min went to at the beginning of the game. Keeping the lights off, head to the last stall in the bathroom and lay down to look at the gap between the floor and door.

RELATED: Beginner Tips For White Day: A Labyrinth Named School

Soon enough, there will be a heavy "thunking" sound as a hidden voice seems to check all the stalls in the bathroom. The sound will get louder until it sounds like it's right outside the stall, and then her face will suddenly appear in the gap. The Face Filled with Hatred is about a girl named Young-hee who was pushed off the rooftop of the school by her friend. She's exclusive to the remake.

5 Haunted Head Ghost

The Haunted Head Ghost is associated with the story of a tragic accident. When the New Building was being constructed, scaffolding fell on a woman and took off her head. Just like in the first game, she appears see-through when she is first spotted, and slowly approaches the player until she suddenly appears in front of them screaming in their face.

In the original game, she's more of a detriment to the player as she will continue to pursue them once she is spawned. She also alerts the janitor to the player's location.

4 The Housemistress

The Housemistress is the ghost of a female teacher that worked at the school. She's another exclusive ghost to the remake, and has a specific condition to make her appear. The player needs to retrieve the box of cigarettes in the Boys' Bathroom on the first floor of the Main Building. After equipping the cigarettes, go to the Girls' Bathroom on the third floor in Area 2 of the Main building. With the lights off, look into the second mirror to make her appear behind Hee-Min.

The Housemistress will charge with her scissors and disappear soon after, but will reappear after leaving the bathroom and attack. She was once the Housemistress/Housemother of a girls' dormitory when the school was first made. Her strictness led to her students hating her, and they even blamed the death of another student on her. The pressure from the students' hatred led to her running off and eventually dying in the mountains nearby.

3 Grandmother Ghost

The Grandmother Ghost poses a big problem to the player if she catches them caught. She can be found in the New Building on the 3rd floor. Walking along the indoor bridge, the player will find themselves unable to move. When they look around, the Grandmother Ghost will suddenly pop up and scare them, disappearing in the next moment with an echoing creepy laugh.

RELATED: White Day: A Labyrinth Named School - How To Get The White Chrysanthemum Ending

If the player is seen by the Janitor and chased over the indoor bridge, she will grab ahold of them, making it easier for the Janitor to attack. The story associated with her tells the tale of a seemingly kind older woman who took care of orphans. One day, she and the children disappeared. When people went to search for them, all they found were the remains of the children. The best way to avoid her is to avoid crossing the indoor bridge.

Eun-ah is the ghost of a girl that had sulfuric acid thrown into her face. She's found in the New building, inside the Music Appreciation Room. Encountering her and defeating her is part of the story, so she can't be avoided.

The player must have the Yin-Yang token in order to defeat her. If they go near her without it, the room will become dark . She will attack the player as soon as they use the lighter, killing them. With the Yin-Yang Token, players have to reflect the light of the token onto her before she shows her face.

1 Spider Ghost

Both dangerous and very scary , the Spider Ghost is an obstacle that the player must face when they get to the New Building. In the remake, she appears in specific classrooms. She cannot be avoided, as the player has to enter these classrooms to complete a puzzle to retrieve the rooftop key for the New Building.

If she catches the player, she will capture them with her long hair and then fling them across the room, causing damage. The Spider Ghost is one of the few ghosts who are revealed to not be human in the story associated with her.

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