Is the Traditional Date Dying?

Is The Traditional Date Dying?

The traditional date began with a man asking a woman at least several days in advance is she wanted to go to a movie, dinner, a concert, or some event. Times have changed along with the social norm. What used to be called the traditional date is now referred to as the “hook up”.

One could explain the hook up as being at a party, bar, or club and locking eyes with another and sadly that’s all it takes. Usually a conversation will strike between the two and some how you’re making out or possibly going home with your new found stranger. A survey says about 20% of college students had had 5-10 hookups, and over a third had hooked up more than 10 times. College is said to be an institution for one to learn, but it is also a time to party and have fun. The term hook up implies that something sexual happened, but not necessarily that you “had sex”. Oral sex is no longer seen as sexual intercourse which seemed to surprise many adults.

Just as the hook up applies to college students is equally applies to single adults. Dating is not what it used to be. People are now meeting their future husband and or wife over the internet. The internet is reshaping dating in many ways. In a sociological perspective you can date any race, age, gender, or financially established person you choose. A friend of my mothers’ is divorced with two children and is looking for a new partner. She lives in Jersey and is very well established. She is joined to an elite internet dating service, which she pays for. The men who she is eligible to date must fit a certain quota, and make a certain amount of money per year.

My aunt is also joined to an online dating service. She is also divorced, and holds a high profile job. People are busy, and life can sometimes be chaotic. It is hard to find your soul mate when you work Monday through Friday and have a million other things that need to get done. The internet is easily accessed, which makes it convenient for people. I believe some people probably due it as a joke, while others take it really seriously. I personally would be skeptical to meet someone in person who I met over the internet.

The essay by both Paul England and Reuben J. Thomas states over half the people that hooked up knew one another moderately or very well. If your dating someone over the internet chances are you’ve never me them before. I’m not a sociologist but if I had to make an educated guess I would say more older people are dating over the internet than younger people. With that in mind I went to Google and typed in “most popular dating sites over the internet”. It is astonishing how many websites came up. One in particular called “A look at the most popular dating services was very helpful to me. http://www.helium.com/items/854720-people-everywhere-getting-online

This site gave me a lot of information on some of the better dating sites over the internet. LAVALLIFE, PERFECTMATCH, and MATCH.COM were the top three internet dating services of the internet. It listed the pros and cons of each dating service. It also told you the price of the service. For example PERFECTMATCH only supports heterosexual pairings. It also states that it doesn’t allow any adult-rated content, meaning no nudie pictures allowed. It is funny to read this but many of these dating services are very detailed in terms of what they offer.

This brings me back to the traditional date. Is the phone outdated? It is incredible how you can internationally make yourself a personality profile and meet others. The internet along with