To look at dating in the modern age, we have to look at the way dating has worked throughout history. It hasn’t been the way that it is now for very long at all. It all started way back in the stone and bronze ages when groups of families started living together in what would become our first societies. These families intermarried for generations with little to no dating happening. Parents would have daughters and promise them off to the sons of other families to strengthen their societal standing. It’s how dating worked for centuries until the nuclear family came about.

Girls Were Expected to Marry

From the 18th century to the 20th, girls were meant to be courted and married before they even had sex for the first time. It was just how it was done. Girls would reach an age where the local boys would start to take interest in them. They would try to impress them in any way that they could and take them out on private dates. It was expected that the girl would be chosen by the one most suited to her and they would be married before she even got out of her teens.

Women started going to College

Sometimes around the 1960s, girls started going off to college in their teen years instead of getting married. This led to an upheaval in the traditional systems. The girls were away from their parents with no one to tell them what to do. This led to lots and lots of sex. Teen boys and girls got used to the concept of having sex without having to be in committed relationships and they loved it. It was all of the pleasure without any of the work and that led to the way that modern dating works.

Hook Up Culture

We’re now living in an age of a hook up culture where no one has to date if they don’t want to. There are plenty of places for men and women to have all the sex they want and still stay single. They can hook up at school, at work, with their friends, or head out to clubs just to find someone to have sex with. It’s so common that no one even bothers to look down on it anymore. It’s possible to have intimate encounters with people and still maintain all of your freedom.

Online Hook Ups

Now that most people spend most of their time online in some way, sex has moved there as well. There are tons of web sites that are dedicated to getting you laid and nothing more. Any person anywhere on the planet can sign up for a free Fuckbook right now and have sex with a stranger tonight. It brings a level of sexual freedom that the world has never seen before. All it takes is an internet connection and functioning genitals to have sex with more people in one night than our ancestors had in their entire lives.

People can still Date

That doesn’t mean that people looking for more meaningful relationships can’t find it, though. There are plenty of hook ups that lead to long term relationships in the end. You just have to be honest about what you want and willing to let it change as your desires change. Don’t be afraid to get out there to hook up and don’t be afraid to let it turn into something more serious. How it all goes is always up to you and your partner. Just make sure that you have plenty of fun along the way.