E-maintain

[Dianne]

We’ve always conditioned men to maintain women—this isn’t something new. What’s different is this “[maintenance]” has become completely electronic for some men, and the men doing the “maintaining” aren’t seeing or even making an effort to see the women they are connecting with. Men are just texting, emailing or using social media to give the impression they are [checking in] or they care—in order to maintain these women.
For these men, the definition of “maintenance” has [shifted] from traditional strategies like sending gifts and engaging in the occasional dinner, drinks or movie, to this incredibly convenient and empty form of communication based on text messages, emails, and social media: e-maintaining. And it is a mode of communication that isn’t even based in reality.
Coined by [Yashar] Ali