180-Dating: The Relationship Trend Exemplified By Kim Kardashian And Pete Davidson

Dating trends come in all shapes and sizes. They can range from the horribly toxic, like breadcrumbing, to the absolutely wonderful, like oystering. In the former, someone you're dating drops a text here and there, trying to lure you in, but yet they don't know if they really want you around, so they're fairly flighty and non-committal about it. With oystering, you're taking your life by the horns, owning both your past and your future, and going out there after a breakup fully knowing the world is your oyster and you're going to do everything and anything you want. It's beautiful and fulfilling. We need more trends like this.

But oystering isn't the only positive dating trend that someone can embrace after a breakup. For those newly single, "untyping" is also an option. This trend is all about dating someone who isn't your usual type. According to a 2022 survey by the dating app Badoo, 77% of people were open to dating someone who was the complete opposite of who they normally choose to date. You know, to give it a try and see if maybe the old adage of "opposites attract" could actually be legit.

Although dating someone who isn't your type can look like a lot of things, for some people putting this trend into action, only 180-dating will do. Breakups can make us do some very unexpected things. Some people cut bangs, others move to a foreign country, then some (actually a lot) date Pete Davidson.

While untyping is the trend in which someone dates a person, or people, who aren't their type, 180-dating is a more specific form of this. With 180-dating, you ditch dating people your age and find comfort in the arms of a younger person.

A celebrity relationship that truly embodied 180-dating is that of Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson. After Kim ended things with Kanye West, the 41-year-old started dating Pete, who is 13 years her junior. Although the relationship was short-lived, lasting only nine months, it was definitely a change of course for Kim in a lot of ways, but the age difference seemed to be what stood out the most.

According to a 2022 survey by the dating app Plenty of Fish, 63% of people have dated someone younger after a breakup. What is up for debate is whether or not these people took a page from Kim Kardashian or possibly from Olivia Wilde, who dated Harry Styles, who is 10 years her junior. But if age is just number, then why not have a younger rebound after the breakup of a long-term relationship? Middle-aged men date younger women all the time (Hello, Leo!), and no one bats an eye. It might be time for everyone, no matter their gender or sexuality, to go younger after a breakup. 

If you come out of a relationship with someone who's your age, or thereabout, and start dating someone younger — especially someone who doesn't have the responsibilities that you had in your former relationship — you're in for a treat. Not only will it be refreshing, but it can feel like you're taking a vacation from the life you knew before your breakup. Mortgage, shared bank accounts, driving your kids to soccer practice — all of that can feel miles away if you rebound with someone who's 10 to 15 years younger. It can give your life a jolt you didn't realize you needed. Although beware of going too young because immaturity can be exhausting.

Once the fling, rebound, or however you want to classify it, is over, you can go back to dating people who are closer in age to you if you feel like that's a better fit. As much as dating someone younger can be a lot of fun and you can even fall in love, if you're 38 and they're 25, it might end up being an issue in the long term. Even if maturity isn't a problem, people in those age brackets are usually on different pages when it comes to goals and what they want out of life.

But if you can turn that younger rebound into a long-term relationship, then go for it. Connection and love should have nothing to do with the year you were born.