Dating. How is dating different from when our parents and teachers were going out from how it is now? The scene has changed, our attitudes have changed and traditions have certainly changed.

Dating generally originates from the boys asking the girls out. That only made sense when the boys were the main ones in the working field and wore the pants, making the money.

Now girls are becoming more independent and strong-minded and it is very common for a girl to have a job and make money so they, too, can afford to take people out on dates.

So shouldn’t the girls also be responsible for asking people on dates? Girls want to be the ones with the power and control, but yet they still want the boys to open doors and pay for dinner. If girls want to have more power they should give up a few things, like being spoiled by the boys.

Dating started out as a formal evening between a young man and a young lady. It required going to town where the boy was required to pay. The most common pastime to do back in the day was to go dancing and to the movies, or to get a cup of coffee.

In the 1920’s petting, kisses or inappropriate touching, became popular which made it so that couples could get to know each other physically before getting serious or more intimate.

Throughout the years dating began to change. Kids would go “steady,” giving each other their class rings or their letterman jackets, but back then, just like today, the relationships didn’t always last.

Slowly people began dating younger and getting married younger.

Then suddenly feminism movements really started changing the dating scene. More women went to college and became more independent. Dating started to become less formal and not taken too seriously. Group dating, or just going out with friends started in the 1990’s.

Instead of dating, people just began to have sex. It got popular to have sex at younger ages, even though it is really irresponsible to do so. The age got younger and younger because kids started dating earlier, therefore having sex sooner.

Our age group is a noncommittal and sex driven generation. It seems like you are mocked if you have not taken that extra step in a relationship with the opposite sex, although it should be the opposite. People should not be pressured to be having sex or laughed at for not doing it.

Now we hardly go out on dates anymore. Most students said that they are more likely to hang out with a whole group of people over the weekends than to go out on a date.

Instead of dating and going steady with one another, it is more common to just go around and flirt with everyone you come in contact with.

We just enjoy having fun. Who can blame us? High school days are meant to be fun, why would you want to settle down and go “steady?” Students rarely go out on dates except for those special occasions like school dances.

The fun has really been lost in dating. We shouldn’t start going steady more, but we really should start going out on more fun dates and enjoying the opposite sex’s company on individual terms.