Think back to your last bad date. After the shivers that are going down your spine go away, think about this. Was it so bad that you would make the other person pay for their half of the bill? If you would, there is this new fad called Venmo Dating. I have been hearing all about it the past couple of weeks and it has peeked my interest. For those who have never heard of Venmo Dating, it would go like this, for example: Say you ask someone out on a date to dinner. Say the date did not go well, but you still want to pay the bill while you are out because you asked them on a date and you feel it is the polite thing to do. Then once the date is over you send them a notification on Venmo, a linked credit card, debit card or checking account that will send that person a bill for their portion of the meal. Now basically you can tell someone you wouldn’t like a second date with a quick send of a bill instead of just ghosting them completely. Is this going to be the new way of dating?
Going on a date is already nerve-racking enough, and now people have to worry about being billed for being a bad date too? After discussing this idea with friends, a few things came up. Some of my friends at first were completely about this idea, saying that if they are spending money on someone and they are not a good time, why should they have to pay for the other person’s portion of the date? They said they should get their money back. Yet, other people are stressing over the idea of chivalry and that even if you had a bad time, it was a risk regardless taking that person out on the date and you should just “take the L”. I know this calls chivalry into question, which is a huge topic on the account of whether or not people believe chivalry is completely dead. Personally, I do not think chivalry is completely dead, but I do in fact think that dating is changing. For this generation, in particular, no one wants their time wasted, so I can understand someone who did not have a good time just sending a bill instead of going on another date. It is a clear indication that “no, we shouldn’t do this again.” The fact that someone receives this message most likely once they are home makes it a little less embarrassing than telling them something like that out in public.
I do not think this will last very long, however. I think that this may work for some people, but this is definitely not something that works for everyone. Being sent a bill after a date can be mortifying. I think the classic no second date move of “*insert name* hasn’t called me back” method will dominate for awhile, because I feel that most people hate confrontation in general and wouldn’t want to come face-to-face someone after they sent them a bill on Venmo. So, would you still send that bill?
