Editor’s Note: Some words have been censored for profanity.
Our generation has drastically altered society’s views on sex. It is no secret that cultures change and evolve over time, but when did calling a relationship casual or referring to a person as a friend-with-benefits become not only accepted, but the norm?
Instead of going out to a dinner and a movie, it has become socially acceptable to merely “hang out” at someone’s apartment or house, and well, we all know what that means. Instead of calling someone up and asking what they are up to, we can get what we want through a three-letter text message or even an app.
Several apps have been developed to connect you with people in your area, but some have taken these apps and turned them into a means of finding their next meaningless hook up. People question why romance and chivalry are dead; it is because the digital age killed them.
A particular app taking college campuses by storm is Tinder. In the two years since its conception, Tinder claims to have made over 2 billion matches and reports 10 million active users as of April 2014.
According to Tinder’s mission statement the app is “the fun way to connect with new and interesting people around you.” This allows the user to interpret for themselves how they want to use the app. Those intentions could include trying to make friends in your area, the possibility of finding a romantic connection or just finding someone who is down to f—, or put even simpler, DTF. Users can upload up to six photos to their profile for others to view and also have the option to write a 500-character biography to describe themselves or their intentions with the app.
College is supposed to be the time to experience and experiment, but somewhere along the way our generation jumped way past normal college behavior. Acts that used to be frowned upon are now encouraged; the walk of shame is now being referred to as the stride of pride and spending the night at a frat house is considered a right of passage.
Obviously, finding a person to spend the rest of your life with is not the main focus for most college students. With a full course load, homework, campus activities, a job and a social life, who has the time to plan out huge romantic gestures, like stealing a blue French horn or hosting giant soirées at a mansion across the lake? Making time for anything serious with as much as we have on our plates can be daunting, so it is not surprising people forgo old-fashioned dating habits for simpler, more convenient strategies.
Despite the convenience factor, from a woman’s perspective, it would still be nice every now and then to go on a clearly defined date, not just “hang out sometime.”
