Between The Sheets

To most, dating is equivalent to hooking up, however over the last century dating has been revolutionized to mean much more. In the nineteenth century it would have been unthinkable if a woman asked a man out but that’s no longer the norm. Women ask men out too.

To some, dating is getting to know a person or getting intimate with a partner, which can be categorized as casual dating.  Serious dating, on the other hand, refers to dating as a precursor to evaluate if one wishes to pursue a relationship with that person.

There are two types of serious dating styles: the first one is “slow-play” dating where two people take their time to get to know each other. The other is the “lonely and looking to settle down now” style where the relationship develops at a much faster pace.

However, the dating lines in college get skewed a little more with anomalies such as the double-date couples that only see each other when their friends who are in a relationship see each other and want company.

There is also the lust at first sight dating that commences in an elevator or on the stairs.

According to a speed dating announcement featured in the February 2010 issue of The Connexion in Paris there is an annual “speed dating event at a hotel in Cerizay open to anyone aged 20 and above that starts at 20.00 with a light buffet and apéritif, with required reservations.” The prime participants present were pooled from an Internet dating site that “allows people to share their single friends in the same way they share files.”

Blind dating just like any type of dating needs three prime requisites in order to work. The first is to keep an open mind, which entails listening to the other person and being open to speaking about your interests and hobbies.

The second requisite, which is the most important, is having a reliable source. The person that hooks you up should know you well enough to know who would complement you best.

The third prime requirement is not getting too drunk. When one gets too drunk, leaving a good first impression is less likely to occur.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau “40 million Americans use online dating services,” meaning that 40 percent of the approximately 100 million single people in America rely more on themselves, inputting their own data online than a friend to match them up on a blind date.

According to an article by The Sunday Times “email relationships can be far more intimate than normal dating. Women are most likely to find a potential lover online, with 72 percent admitting to having had an online romance, compared to 52 percent of men. The online dating statistics report also found that 33 percent of all online relationships led to a date.”

So keep an open mind Baruch, and take a chance, you never know.