Hello, there! Kindly allow me to begin by letting you know that I am not here to sing an anti-Cupid anthem neither am I here to tell you how love sucks because hey, it doesn’t.
Love is the binding force that keeps the beings within the universe intact, enticed, intertwined or whichever fancy adjective you’d want to substitute it with. I say to-mah-to, you say to-mae-to!
My discussion today shall be centered towards the signature style of dating in 2019, the year where technology has begun to take over the world of dating and whatnot.
(Disclaimer: No offense intended!)The phrase “plenty of fish in the sea” which was often used in the yesteryears by the single men and women to address the other fellow single men and women is now used to represent the dating profiles on Tinder and other dating sites where people present a declaration of how they are miserably single and desperately ready as ever to mingle.
Why is dating so complicated? Why is it so difficult to find love? Why is dating so hard in 2019? I am all set to give you my two cents regarding all your queries.
Without further ado, let’s dive deep into the article and get to know why dating really sucks in 2019.
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1. The First Date
Let’s say we somehow manage to bag a date for some random day. Everything seems electrifying at first whilst we are busy in framing imaginative pictorials and the million-dollar smile of the person who we’re all set to go out and about with.
And just after a while, right on the first day, the imaginative pictorial might just turn into a terrifying nightmare because of the unrealistic expectations from both the ends and the hypersensitivity of the nervous system to bedazzle the potential boyfriend material.
The woes just don’t end there, no, no! We find ourselves on the onset of a dilemma when we don’t know how to converse and what to converse about with this stranger who is supposedly our date. Also, what do we order to eat? Most girls will order a salad and well, boys will try to disguise their messy-eater self and put on impressive etiquettes just to bag a second date. How interesting!
2. The Payment Woes
The guys are expected to pay on the first date, pretty much by default. But with the evolving ideologies of feminism and egalitarianism, we’re generally unsure of whether it’d be taken as an act of courtesy if we offer to pay for our share or rather comes off as a “show-off” attitude in the eyes of our date.
In case they’re paying, it’s rude to order something overly expensive because firstly, you’ll be two strangers and he wouldn’t be obliged to pay. He might back off right after the first date upon discovering how you recklessly splurge on food. Are you waiting for the second reason? Oh well, just don’t!
Anyways, if you are keen on offering your part of the share, you might as well devour an affordable dish. A plate of Hawaiian salad, maybe?
3. Hindrances in Meeting People
The Internet has revolutionized the dating world. People in the former years used to go out and about to meet other people and pine for the ones who they felt drawn towards.
But with the increasing trend of online dating, people are not only housebound but also “internet-bound” for dating purposes- courtesy the dating sites like Tinder. Whilst many sign up for the purpose of finding “the one”, many others are there simply looking for a random hook-up.
With the increasing culture of online dating, people are prone to getting catfished and are exposed to several other dangers, identity theft being one amongst the rest. It all seems fun and game upon commencement, of course, but there’s a dark side to online dating.
Afterall, who knows if the 18-year-old boyfriend you are indulged in a “casual online-relationship” with is actually a 60-something-year-old man?
4. Increased Fussiness
We can’t overlook the fact that our generation is overly fussy- whether in terms of food, attires or the standards of dating. We have a predetermined criteria and the ones who don’t fit in are never even given a chance to prove their worthiness.
I’d say that the meaninglessness lying underneath our picky standards is tragically comic. I watched this series called Friends with Better Lives where this Kate character was extremely picky whilst choosing men she wanted to date. She’d reject people just because she didn’t like their smile or something that’d seem much surficial to her other friends, especially Will. Her role reflected the shallowness of our generation.
What is the chance of the actress reading this listicle anyway? Slim, I guess? But if she happens to drop by, here’s a shout-out: Zoe Lister Jones, you were flipping amazing in FWBL!
5. The Confusing “hang-outs”
I think I’m done with complaining about the downsides of online dating. A perk can be, let’s say, you know for sure that it’s a date. For example, in Tinder, if you start “talking” to someone after swiping right, it will be considered as a date. Why else would you talk to someone on Tinder?
However, IRL, you never know what the other party perceives of this “hang-out” session as. What is hanging out anyway? Inviting someone over lunch or talking to someone over the phone for prolonged hours and then still labeling it as “hanging out”.
For Christ’s sake, why can’t you come up with a better term than that? You do everything that couples would be expected to do and if someone asks you if you’re dating, you say that you are casually hanging -out, without a mark of compunction in your face. It couldn’t have been more absurd!
I remember a particular instance where I and a friend of mine went to a church. I was born into a Hindu family, so I’d never been to a church before. So, this guy friend offered to take me to a church and I nodded with joy.
But before setting out on the journey, I clearly told him that it wasn’t a date and he shouldn’t take it as one. As my intentions were clear, it didn’t lead to any awkward situation afterward. I am not a hypocrite or a prude. I have made my fair share of mistakes. Who hasn’t anyway? But recalling this incident of my teenage-self makes me admire my decision-making skills even to this day.
Conclusion:
You just read my view on why dating in 2019 sucks.
Any suggestions, comments or constructive criticisms are highly welcomed.
Thank you for dropping by.