In the strange, strange world of college interactions, dating and relationships take the cake for being the most contradictory and confusing. Trying to navigate the "do’s and dont's" of college dating culture is nearly impossible. Many marriages and lifetime partners are found in college, but are the 21st-century universities still a place where people find love? Is modern college a place where we as students are looking for love and lifetime partners?

One thing I find incredibly confusing is “hooking up." It is a baby step between dating and not. It is essentially a trial run before a fully committed relationship. It is meant to be less serious, but if someone’s relationship status is “hooking up,” physical participation is implied. One of the most serious parts of dating is the physical aspect, yet it is ironically done all before we decide if the relationship is serious enough to start dating.

Another confusing aspect of dating culture is the difference between “hooking up” and a “hook up." People partake in “hook-ups” which are basically one night stands. “Hooking up with X” means that there is more to the relationship than sex but just because there is more does not mean that either party is ready to date nor wants to date.

Today, people are settling down later and later in life which I think is affecting the dating culture. Now that people are getting married at 30, there is more time to have fun.

Today, college dating has more wiggle room. There is less pressure to find a significant other during the four years. “Hooking up” is so popular because it renders flexibility. We can have a significant other to think about and have, yet we are also technically single just in case something better comes along. It is like always having someone on the backburner.

Although confusing, this is the dating culture in which we live in. Ultimately, it is the individual's decision to partake in the “hookup” culture or not. It is neither bad nor good it just is. The flexibility is desirable, yet feelings are compromised.