Flagging a new problem

Red flags for toxic partners. Green for good ones. But rose, white, black, pink? Colour coding is now a swirly mess

- Karishma Kuenzang

How many flags are we supposed to look out for in people now? There's red: Signs that indicate that a potential partner is bad news (or at least, not right for you). So, red is bad. A green flag is a mark of good qualities (or at least those that make them attractive to you). OK, green is good. So far, so good.

In 2022, beige flags started popping up on the internet. They pointed to partners with habits that were strange, but harmless: A boyfriend who spent the day with a divorced buddy but came home with no gossip; a girlfriend who got her best sleep after watching a slasher movie. Odd, but we managed.

This year has brought forth white flags, indicating that a person is so dull, they make ever after seem like a life sentence. There are now pink flags (worrying, but not fully red), and rose flags. Hoist the rose ones up when someone you know is blinded by love. Indicators: Their partner steals money from them, but they think it's cute. Their partner hangs out with an ex until 3am, but they refuse to think anything's amiss.