Millennials didn’t start ALL of the horrible dating trends, but I’ll be honest and say we’re responsible for a lot of the current ones.
Honestly, it’s not completely our fault. We grew up in the age of technology and became more detached from the world than prior generations. This and some of our most influential people have lead us to continuously practice these 6 horrible millennial dating trends.
SEX ON THE FIRST DATE
Everything is so liberal now that if you’re conservative, you’re judgy or a prude. Because of that, sex on the first date has become more of a thing than not. Dating apps have made it an expectation more than just a platonic date focused on getting to know your potential partner. This creates a cycle of just setting up dates to sleep with people and never go any further (depending on how the sex was). I can do without this trend, but then again… I guess I’m prude-ish.
PHONE ATTACHMENTS ON DATES
We barely interact on dates or in places where we should be making potential love connections because we’re so attached to our phones. We’re either texting someone else, scanning social media, or checking emails. I’m guilty to an extent (although I don’t think I’m THAT bad). This trend probably didn’t originate with us, but we’ve helped advance it into a problematic trend.
VALIDATION FROM SOCIAL MEDIA
As much as I hate to admit it, we’re the validation generation. There wouldn’t be anything wrong with it if we didn’t need the validation from our peer too. We have to announce our relationships and post pictures to validate our relationships. It creates competition amongst us to be the couple that’s labeled “goals” for everybody else. Instead of focusing on the offline aspects of our relationships, we obsess over perception on social media. This is counterproductive to say the least.
MAKING CELEBRITY COUPLES “GOALS”
As mentioned in the previous point, we tend to make other couples (namely celebrity couples) “goals”. Every couple has issues and most of the couples that are labeled as “goals” have the same problems everyone else has (if not more). They are just good and hiding the truth and maintaining the image.
ABANDONING CHIVALRY
I’m a hopeless romantic and I appreciate those chivalrous acts like opening doors, pulling out chairs, making sure you get in the house, etc. Our generation has gotten away from these things for the most part (as we’re focused on independence across the board). I wouldn’t be opposed if we return to chilvary being a part of dating again.
“CHILLING” AT HOME INSTEAD OF AN ACTUAL DATE
Well this is just wack… Yea, I said it… wack. Part of the fun of dating is actually getting dressed and leaving the house to have fun. Not only is this a cop out, but it doesn’t put both parties on an equal playing field. One party is in their comfort zone and the other has to find common ground somewhere along the way or just be uncomfortable.
So we haven’t completely ruined dating as millennials, but we’ve allowed some pretty bad trends to take hold. These are the most common 6 trends that can go (for me at least). Let me know if there are any big ones I missed in the comments.
