As challenging as dating in our generation may be, we all have the choice to do better and embrace the purity of mutual attraction by being explicitly clear with ones intentions.
Dating in the millennial generation is so unlike the stories of our fathers where they pulled all the stops during courtship. This generation seems quite oblivious to courting with a lack of patience and making plans to meet for a lengthy, realistic, valuable interaction has become non-existent to most, considering the fast pace of social media and dating apps that suck the creativity behind it all.
Scheduling a meet up for example with someone you've "chatted" to on social media or swiped right on is more or less to decipher if there's chemistry with a couple of drinks down the pipe in the space of 30mins to an hour then possibly "hooking up" quicker than a job application. This also applies to meeting another through a mutual friend but in such scenario the character of said mutual friend will most likely determine how both parties build on from an introduction - where the character of mutual friend breeds respect and standards which in turn may have a positive influence on the choice to maintain the process.
There are a number of terms for casual dating; Hook Up, Hangout, Netflix & Chill, Jam, "What You Saying" to say the least.
We interact with what I call "The text factor" - where texting has become the best form of communication and such method of communication itself is diluted with fickle conversations, misrepresentation and degradation. A phone call is now perceived as a case of emergency or when something is needed - as though verbal conversations through the phone is old fashioned. Moral and ethical values are slowly in decline, becoming so mundane that what we may have once considered immoral is now normalised.
Long live the sorcerers of relationships, the pharaohs of romance and the cupids of love; Those who aren't easily swayed by the pollution of this new generational conformity. May we see them and know them - Love is a beautiful thing and dating should be the most refreshing way to get to know someone. When I say "dating", I mean the process; courtship. Go out for drinks, watch a movie in the cinema, go see a play in the theatre, enjoy a boat cruise, play snooker, shoot some balls in the bowling alley, embark on an adrenaline worthy adventure, create a book reading time table where you both exchange stories of what you've read, tour your city, buy your lady flowers, surprise your gentleman with football / basketball tickets, ignite the romance between each other. There's a whole lot of interesting ways to know someone, you may just acquire some new interest along the way.
At MME we don't believe dating is dead, we believe everyone has a choice! So choose respect, love, romance, happiness, friendship, loyalty, trust, patience, creativity, imperfection and vulnerability.