I will never proclaim to be a dating blogger or pretend I know a lot about the dating scene nowadays – after all, I haven’t been single in over eight years – but I do write regular content for some dating sites in my freelance life so I do have to know a little bit about what is going on in regards to dating.
So many of my friends are currently in ‘break up mode’ and looking for new loves or are getting married. I’m at the period of time in my life where everyone is starting on new beginnings whether that is with the end of a relationship or the start of a marriage or the birth of a child. This is such a stark change from eight to ten years ago when we were all young, carefree and single and could go out whenever we wanted. Now we have responsibilities.
Back then you met people in bars, clubs, whilst out. Dating sites were only just coming into fruition in those days and now you can’t move for dating websites or apps for your phone. They now even have area specific or age specific dating sites – this Dorset dating site, Tayside dating site, Manchester dating site and Bedfordshire dating site are just a few area specific examples whilst over 50s dating Staffordshire and over 50s dating Birmingham are just two examples of age specific (and perhaps even area specific) sites.
There was only a few dating sites to choose from back then which is why my friends and I relied on meeting people whilst out. Living in a small village though, you had to make sure the guy you were talking to wasn’t also originally from the village – my friends and I have big families and you don’t want to find out that the guy you are getting on really well with is actually a distant cousin, do you? Steve actually lived and worked in the village just like me but was actually originally from the next town over so I knew everything was okay there. My friends and I did have one guy try it on in the pub one day with us though – only for my Mum to mention that he happened to be our distant cousin – eek!
The main point of this post though was to discuss the fact that dating has changed so much over the years – but is this for the better or not? I actually think this is a double edged sword. Yes, there is so much more variety now and you can really whittle down your search by using a site that looks for specific things – you can use an area specific site, an age specific site, a fetish site, a sugar daddy/sugar baby site, a cougar/toyboy site. You want to look for it, you will be able to find a site that specifies in it.
However with so much choice comes so many problems too. Certain apps have a reputation for just being full of men and women wanting hookups and being total jerks – however you can get the odd good egg. There is also the fact that you can literally have too much choice and don’t know which way to turn. Finally it is sad that the old way of meeting people for the first time in a bar is dwindling out. Gone is the time you will swap numbers and arrange a date – now it’s all like Geordie Shore (don’t get me wrong, I love that show!) where you take them home straight away. Going out and meeting someone isn’t about finding someone to date anymore, its about finding someone who will want to jump into bed with you at the end of the night – and whilst if people want to do that. it’s fine, but it is also a shame that people can no longer tell the stories to their grandchildren about ‘how their eyes met across the bar’ and stuff like that.
Dating sites have certainly revolutionised the dating scene and I can only see them getting bigger. I do think dating has changed for the better with everyone having so much choice but I think I would be totally lost and overwhelmed if I was to join the dating scene again anytime soon. Just seems so crazy! What do you think?
Collaborative Post