There used to be a time where if a boy liked a girl he would ask her on a date, and then another one, and then maybe a few more. She would dress up to go meet him and he would pick her up and take her somewhere nice. In this day and age when a boy likes a girl, he might ask her to "come chill" or get her number so that he can text her and meet up at a party. Honestly Generation Z -- anyone under, or let us face it, around, the age of 20 -- does not know how to date, and it is affecting us more than we know.
Now, I am not speaking for everyone here, but instead of going out on several dates in order to get to know each other, we all go through the "talking phase." In the beginning stages of a relationship, someone may ask, "Oh, are you two dating?" and your response would most likely be, "No, we're just talking." What does this even mean? If two people are interested in each other, they should go out and really learn about each other. A boy should want to actually take a girl out on some sort of adventure, and a girl should look forward to actually getting ready and dressing up for a date.
That sort of thing just doesn't happen anymore. Dating has become a casual activity. "Netflix and chill" has become the new "dinner and a movie." Where is all of the angst that people used to feel when thinking about the next time they would see someone? We should be going out and doing things with each other that are actually mentally and emotionally stimulating. Is there some sort of "connection" that forms between two people by watching 23 episodes of "Breaking Bad" in a row?
A large part of this comes from the fact that sometimes something real is just not what we're looking for. Which is true for every generation, it's natural, and it is okay. Where it stops being okay is where it turns into an actual lifestyle. We are living in the midst of hookup culture. The intention of our pursuit is no more meaningful then it is long lasting. At the very least, these things have become very rare occurrences in this generation. We do not know how to work for what we want when things start getting rough, and we are human, things are not always going to be going smoothly. When we get into unfavorable situations with people that may require a little bit more effort, we are often quick to move on to something that is more immediately gratifying.
Generation Z has grown up in a very impatient culture. Anything you want, you can get almost immediately, and if you get tired of that, the next best thing is usually right around the corner. Social media plays a huge role in these absurd standards and false expectation. We are all looking for that person in the Instagram picture. But that is not real life, and even if it is for a moment, dating is not supposed to be something that is done 'for the moment'. Dating is supposed to be something that is done to create many moments, with a person that you actually get to know, and care about, work with, and fight for.
As older generations become more and more influenced by the younger and seemingly better people and ways of life, the younger generations are coming to adopt these ideas as well. Let us take all of those things that happen in the movies out of the movies and into our lives. All of those fairytale dating scenarios can and have been real in the past. Go home and ask your grandparents about how they met and what it was like when they were dating. I guarantee you will see it play out in your head like a sequel to "The Notebook." Generation Z does not know how to date. One date can turn into your whole future. We need to start taking it a little bit more seriously, and putting value back into the process rather than just the result.
