What is dating in 2015?
I used to enjoy family reunions. I used to love catching up with my distant cousins and elderly aunts. I know it’s a little strange, but I’ve always enjoyed listening to all the family gossip and hearing old family legends. A few weeks ago, however, I went to a family reunion and wanted to get out of there as soon as humanly possible.
Why? Because I’m 26 and single. All the cousins are engaged, married or talking about babies. And here I am thinking about my next career move and the last less-than-ideal fling I had. Usually, I don’t mind — or rather I put it out of my mind — but those pesky relatives won’t let me forget my lack of love life.
So, that seriously got me thinking about dating and, like, how do you even do that in 2015? What are your options? Well, here are a few ways… and, to be honest, why they suck.
A while ago I tried this famous app. At first it was kind of fun. Then it got a little tedious. And then it got a whole lot of creepy and uncomfortable.
You see, swiping left and right can be quite entertaining. It’s a little like going through a catalogue of people and choosing who you think you may want to date. The best part? There’s no limit on how many times you can swipe right (or left, thank goodness).
At first I matched with many guys I deemed adequate. But things went downhill from there. Some didn’t even send a “hey” (and apparently it’s not cool for a “chick” to message first, yuck). And others would simply start with a “I’m only in this for random sex” text. Ew. But there were some decent guys out there who honestly tried to get to know me via a dating app. And that was awkward as heck. After about two minutes you run out of niceties and then what the hell do you say?
I mean, how likely are you to meet your soulmate through tinder?
Bars
I have friends who’ve met their long-term partners at bars. So, we do know that it is possible. But is it really worth the gamble and all that effort?
99% of the time getting hit on at bars is creepy and a little uncomfortable. Like, no I’m not going to go home with you because you bought me a tequila.
Bars are great places to meet your next mistake (thanks, Taylor), but the love of your life? It’s a gamble and the house almost always wins.
Friends
Meeting your next bae through friends is probably a safer bet than the previous two, but it has its downside.
Say, you start to date a friend of a friend and it goes great for a while. You two are joined at the lips and everything is perfect. You start to spend time with your mutual friends as a couple. They get used to having you both around for braais and dinner parties.
And then you have a horrible breakup and can’t be in the same room together. Obviously, you don’t tell your friends that they have to choose between you, but they naturally have to. Do they invite you or do they invite your wretched ex? It all just gets so complicated after that.
Work
Work is a big part of your life. You spend a ridiculous amount of time at the office and it’s pretty common to develop an office crush. At first, it’s just about a little daytime dreaming and a reason to get dressed up in the morning. But you could end up actually falling for a colleague.
And that could turn ugly, quickly. Whether it’s one awkward date or a fumbling hook-up, you have to look that person in the eye the next Monday.
Best case scenario: you two walk off into the sunset and end up happily married. But that’s not the most likely case. There’s the very real threat of breaking up and ending creating a hostile and uncomfortable working environment. You have to see each other every day and one of you may need to leave your job in the end. And you don’t want that.
At the end of the day…
Dating in 2015 is hard. There are no definite rules and meeting people is always difficult. for some reason it seems like previous generations had it so much easier. Going on a date is no longer simple. The hardest part about dating is no longer staring at a closet full of handbags, deciding which one works. But just because it’s difficult doesn’t you shouldn’t try. Get out there, get annoyed, get hurt, and maybe get happy.