I first started dating over 10 years ago. Back then there was no social media. If you wanted to date someone you relied on initial face to face interaction followed by texting and maybe a phone call or two. Today, you can bag yourself a date in less than 10 minutes on a dating app or website. Although it’s now easier than ever to find a partner, it has also never felt more complicated to find love, which is why I sometimes hate dating in the 21st century. How are you meant to find everlasting love with someone when you have a whole database of potential soulmates at the touch of a button?
Whether you agree with me or not, I think we can all agree that dating and people’s views to dating has changed dramatically over the past few years. In fact according to recent research by My Voucher Codes 52% of men and 58% of women believe the traditional values of courtship between couples don’t apply today. 41% of women don’t expect men to pay for the entire date and just over a third of men feel that meals should be shared 50/50. Personally, I think a guy should pay for a first date. But I wouldn’t object if he wanted me to split the bill with him.
And when it comes to arranging the date, gone are the days where you would have to pluck up the courage to ask them face to face. Today 29% of men and women are happy to arrange a date via social media, and a third of men and women admit to looking up their date online beforehand. Now I think I should admit that I’ve also done this before. I mean if you’re going to meet someone online then where is the harm in doing a little Facebook stalking before the date?
While I’m all for technology and given the fact that I seem to spend half my life online, I do want to see a return to traditional methods of dating. Of course there are positives to online dating, you get to meet people that you may never have crossed paths with before, you can find someone a lot easier than before but unless you’re looking for a lot of casual relationships, I’m not sure I’m suited to dating in the 21st Century.
How do you feel about dating in the 21st Century?
I find because there’s a lot more choice in people out there that people don’t see dating as anything important. For me I don’t get a lot of time so if I arrange a date it has to be worthwhile and with someone who I think I might connect with and too many times I’ve never heard from them since. It is hard! x
I’m married so not in the dating game and TBH I’m totally relieved. Social media dating sounds a nightmare. How do you know that what you’re seeing online is a true refectory of that person. Yes you’ll go on to meet if you like what you see on Instagram or wherever, but blind date meeting with someone neither you nor your friends know from Adam has it’s own set of issues and potential dangers. Yep, it would def not be for me. Tx
Interesting post! I see both sides. I do think technology is good for meeting new people. It has majorly affected face-to-face communication though.
I met my fiancé online almost 5 years ago. We get married this year and I couldn’t be happier! I was a teen mum and once people learned about my daughter, they weren’t interested in dating me. Online dating allowed me to say I was a mother early on, meaning people already knew before meeting me. Of course, there were some guys who never bothered to read my profile, but those guys don’t matter now 🙂
Dating in the 21st century like most things has evolved and changed due to developments in technology and social norms etc. I definitely think this has some pros, but as your post has highlighted it deffo has some cons too. I always think some of the pople that you would have otherwise not met if not for online dating are supposed to be that way for a reason, but then I’ve heard of success stories that have worked out really well like Elanor (above), Fenetta Norman from YT, Kita from Instagram/YT.
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I have definitely had friends who went through this manner of dating, and most have had horror stories. The thought of going out and meeting a stranger is scary to me! It was scary for me to ask out a guy in my class, let alone someone who may or may not be the same guy. I think the traditional manner of dating is so romantic. I love hearing stories from my parents or grandparents about how they met. I hope that our society today has an opportunity to revisit those times. Amazing post, and I love the facts that you brought up within it! I love a good researched article!