Dating Has Changed — Here Are The New Requirements

Dating is a lot of things: a full-time job, an awkward situation, the gift that unfortunately keeps on giving. But your experiences also have a lot to do with what you bring to the table. Before iPhones and apps, your only baggage was your relationship history, and you could be yourself. But modern dating expects a whole lot more from you. Here are the new requirements for dating:

  1. A Netflix account. Sure, if things go well on a first date, you’ve got a whole lot of Netflix and chilling in your future. But you also need to be a Netflix fan if you’re going to even chat online in the first place because it’s one of the biggest conversation topics ever. It’s pretty much impossible to message anyone without asking if they’ve seen the latest show.
  2. A thick skin. You’re going to get ghosted… sometimes twice by the same guy. You’re going to get creepy messages. You’re going to be insulted. You’re going to be rejected. Does that sound like enough bad stuff now? You definitely need to bring a thick skin along with you on dates and stay strong.
  3. A bad memory. You can’t totally erase the crap you’ve gone through or the things guys have said to you, and yet if you’re going to keep dating, you need to pretend that you have the worst memory ever. It’s the only way to keep going.
  4. A positive attitude. If you can’t be in a good mood on dates, you might as well quit the search for love forever. Negativity is never going to be attractive, especially not today when everyone is sick of dating and dealing with work stress and friend drama and all the everyday problems of life.
  5. A game plan. You can’t go on a date these days without figuring out a whole bunch of things in advance, even before you’ve met the guy. Do you tell him you had a good time or wait for him to make the next move? Do you set up a bunch of first dates in one week just in case you don’t like the first guy? Do you assume he’s seeing other people?
  6. A sparkling personality. Had the worst day ever at work? Had the worst date of your life last week? That doesn’t matter. You still have to bring it on your next date. You have to show up in an amazing mood, acting like you love life and everything in it. Everyone is so sick and tired of dating that anything less is grounds for ghosting.
  7. A sense of humor. Maybe it’s because dating is such a slog. Maybe it’s because life is so stressful. Whatever the reason, you’re not going to get very far if you’re not a funny person. It’s pretty much number one on your wish list, and guys totally feel the same way.
  8. An understanding spirit. If you get mad at guys for literally everything that they do, you might be totally in the right — but you won’t get many dates. You have to get that sometimes plans get rescheduled and guys will be delayed at work and life gets in the way, and maybe not everyone is the monster that you make them out to be. If you can’t do that, you can say goodbye to any more dates.
  9. An ability to speak your mind. If you want to survive dating in 2016, you have to be able to tell a guy what you’re thinking and feeling. That goes for if you’re totally into him… or if he’s being the biggest jerk not the planet. If you can’t be honest about the good and bad stuff that happens, there’s not much hope for you.
  10. A determined belief. In the end, if you think there’s no reason to date and that you’ll never find someone you like, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Your mindset is everything. So along with these other 9 requirements, make sure your head is 100 percent in the game, and you just might win.
Aya Tsintziras is a freelance lifestyle writer and editor from Toronto, Canada. In addition to writing about dating and relationships for Bolde, she also writes about movies, TV, and video games for ScreenRant and GameRant. She has a Political Science degree from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Journalism from Ryerson University. You can find her on Twitter @ayatsintziras and on Instagram @aya.tsintziras.
close-link
close-link
close-link
close-link