Ethan Igbanugo

10/28/2021

Is dating dead?

My immediate reaction to this question is to say yes, dating in that traditional

sense talked about in the book is dead. Not to say that this style of meeting a partner

can’t come back around, but with the combination of hookup culture as well as social

media I do feel like it would be hard for young people to go about dating this way.

Although the traditional way does sound like a great way to find a compatible person to

start a long-term relationship, I don't think most college students would take it well if

they found out about a person they had just went on a “date” with is going on another

date with a different person the next day or the next week. And then when you add in

the fact that hooking up has become much more common, it makes the idea of just

casually dating around even more difficult. As far as for myself and my group of friends,

I’m almost positive that none of us would be okay with a girl that we just took on a date,

going on a date with someone else soon thereafter, or vice versa. Not that any of us

would necessarily be super upset or act like the world is ending, it would just be hard to

keep pursuing a serious relationship with that person, I feel like that's just the way it is

now. Maybe the point of traditional dating though is that none of it is meant to be super

serious, not until both people know that they want to commit. I’d be willing to guess

though that the way dating was done back in the day would not have gone over so

smoothly if things like snapchat and instagram existed. Nowadays a person’s whole life

can be filmed and shared with the world in the blink of an eye. Not only does this
present a problem for people who are nosey when they start talking to someone, it also

presents a problem for people who need to feel validated via social media. Another

reason why traditional dating seems dead to me, is because I personally don’t know if

I've ever been on a traditional date. I’ve certainly been in a few relationships before. But

not once have I met a girl, approached her, and asked her to dinner or anything like

that. It’s pretty crazy when I really think about it. Traditional dates just aren’t something I

was ever really introduced to, and I never really felt the need to participate in one. I think

it would be a good experience though, I just think it would be pretty awkward if it was

with someone I had truly just met recently. Honestly I have a feeling that at some point

traditional dating will come back around, it just wasn't popular with my generation. But

with how much I see people complain about the dating world now, it’s quite possible that

the next generation will be taught to date the traditional way.