When you have a dinner date with a guy who seemed great but turns out to be a hot mess, it’s never a complete loss—at least you got a nice meal out of the deal if nothing else, right? There’s nothing wrong with looking on the bright side of a bad situation, but going out with someone you have zero interest in for the sake of free food is seriously wrong—and super common.
- It’s called a “foodie call.” Sure, you could argue that you don’t know if you really like someone until you have an actual date with them, but if there’s zero chemistry when you meet on a dating app or are introduced through mutual friends and you know you don’t want a relationship with someone, agreeing to go out for food with them because they’re paying and you’re hungry is straight up wrong.
- A shocking number of women are doing this, unfortunately. According to new research by Brian Collisson, Jennifer Howell, and Trista Harig of Azusa Pacific University and UC Merced, a shocking 23 to 33% of women have done a foodie call on a guy. Plus, given that this data was from a self-reported survey, chances are the number is actually much higher than that, which is a real shame.
- Even worse, a lot of people think it’s OK. Of the 820 women recruited for the first part of the study, many of the 23% of respondents who admitted to going on foodie calls said they believed the behavior was acceptable, though they only did it “occasionally or rarely.” That being said, most of the 820 participants admitted that foodie calls were “extremely to moderately unacceptable.”
- People who go on foodie calls have a dark side. According to the study, the women who admitted going on foodie calls scored much higher in what is known as the “dark triad” of personality traits. “Several dark traits have been linked to deceptive and exploitative behavior in romantic relationships, such as one-night stands, faking an orgasm, or sending unsolicited sexual pictures,” Collisson explained.
- If you don’t like someone, don’t go out with them—or at least be prepared to split the bill. Using someone for free food or anything else is tacky, gross, and just wrong. Just as you wouldn’t want to be used by someone, don’t do that to anyone else. If you like someone, go out with them… and pay your own way while you’re at it. If you become a couple later on, you’ll have plenty of time to treat each other then.
[H/T Phys Org]
