A walk along the beach, a picnic in the park, dinner and a movie. They may not be original dates, but they are definitely classic dates. But for generation Y, is dating a thing in the past? Do people go on legitimate dates like they used to?
The idea of a date is moving towards “let’s hang out at my house with a bunch of friends” rather than “would you want to go out to dinner and then catch a movie after?” Guys and girls rarely take a walk along the beach or have picnics in the park. You are most likely to find a couple hanging out at a party and considering that a date. This world is losing its romance.
The idea of dating has changed from dinner and a movie to ‘hanging out,’ and traditional dates are very hard to find in today’s society. If you ask your grandparents how they met and compare it to how you and your significant other have met, I guarantee you it will be completely different.
Older generations have very romantic stories about when they first started “talking.” These older generations can talk for hours about how their first date was a picnic in the park or their first kiss was on a beach at sunset. With today’s generation, you will never find that.
Our generation will tell our grandkids that they met their lover while at a college party and their first kiss was while they were hanging out at home or at a random bar.
We can blame technology for this. Not only has the idea of dating changed, but so has the way people ask others out. With technology these days, guys resort to their cell phones to ask a girl out.
Rather than showing up at the doorstep and even (God forbid) meeting your parents, the person picking up the date will send out a text message “here.”
The dating communication between a potential couple has been resorted to texting, Facebook messages, SnapChat, instant messaging, and other non-face to face methods of communication.
Technology also makes it easy to meet others while online. There are hundreds of dating sites these days, on top of social media like Tinder, which makes it that much easier to find someone. People give up on finding true love in the real world and resort to Tinder, Facebook or Match.com.
Couples need a little romance in their lives. Romance goes a long way for both people in committed relationships and those just getting their feet wet in the dating world. We should make it a point to bring back traditional dating in a few different ways.
1. Do not send a text message to ask someone out on a date! Pick up the phone and actually call. It is a lot more meaningful to actually hear one’s voice when they ask you out. If you want to go an extra step, ask in person. It means a lot to someone when you go that extra mile and show you care.
2. Don’t resort to “hanging out” as a date if you don’t want to spend a lot of money. Be creative. There are a lot of activities to do that are cost efficient.
3. Dress up. Don’t show up in sweatpants and a t-shirt. Wear something a little nicer. It’ll impress your date and once again, will show you actually care.
4. Put the phone away while you’re with your date. Technology gets in the way of communication. In order to have a successful date, there needs to be communication between the two of you.
Show your date that he/she is more important than the text messages coming through. The phone can wait.
5. Dating is not a group effort. Get away from considering a date is hanging out with friends and actually have some one on one time.
6. This one is aimed towards the guys. Show up with flowers. Girls love flowers. It’s extremely thoughtful and a way of showing affection. If you want to really impress your date, stop by and pick out a small bouquet of flowers and surprise your date.
7. Don’t rush things. Take a breather, relax, and just see how things go. If you hit it off on the first date, ask to go on another. Don’t automatically resort to putting a title on it. Rushing into things never last.
8. Take note of your dates likes and dislikes. If you pay attention and keep track of your date’s interests, it’ll show you care and want to learn more. It’ll make your date feel special and important.
9. Hold your date’s hand. This is definitely something that is a small gesture but means a lot. You rarely see couples holding hands anymore. Next time you are out with your partner, grab his/her hand. It is easy yet very romantic and kind. It shows you are not embarrassed to be seen with your partner and that you are proud to call him or her yours.
Let’s stop resorting to text messaging and “hanging out” and instead, let’s bring back the traditional dates.
Start taking your date to dinner and a movie, or for a walk in the park. You will be surprised how much this will mean to that special someone.
IMAGE TAKEN by Kelly Hughes
