I invited one of my male friends to give me his thoughts on dating today and here is what he came up with. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below!

By Jai-Liel Williams (jailiel60williams@gmail.com)

My thoughts on dating will probably be similar to everyone’s experience. One of the glaring factors is social media. This has had an impact everyone’s perception of themselves and how they project themselves to other’s. That point leads into the disconnect from a person’s reality and/or their personality and what they display on social media. Some people may embellish some aspects of their lives while others may hide their imperfections. But that is nothing new, you don’t go into a job interview and blurt out all the unfavorable things people may to say about you.

As for social media we can’t deny it has had an impact on how people date today. On one side you have people that like the fact they can know a little about a person before even meeting them. But for some people social media is just for fun and to share moments and thoughts with friends. There is also the popularity aspect of social media. People are making a living for being popular and having a lot of people’s attention. Attention, I believe is the main factor for the different landscape of dating.

Men and women like attention. Some more than others. Everyone’s attention has been spread out in many different directions. People are now reflecting what they see on social media into reality. Now that everyone is connected any idea or ideology can be spread rapidly. A person can post a comment on their social media and get a lot of reinforcement from others. Now, a person may look at that statement as a consensus of everyone’s opinion. People have also made a career out of the attention. People have admitted to getting positions or placement over perhaps more qualified people, due to the fact they have a larger following on social media. This is one of the reasons why people may embellish.

Let’s not forget, dating isn’t easy. People having this much range of relationships in one society in itself is astonishing. Put to the side all the different ways people can interact, Economics have a factor on dating I’ve noticed. The idea of social status has changed. More educated career driven women also have changed how women and men interact. But the most influential contributor of the dating landscape today to me is the nearly impossible unrealistic expectations that men and women have for one another. Women have a list of attributes a man must possess to date her, that she wouldn’t live up to if they were measured in the same criteria and vice versa for men. We are the first generation to have this much accessibility. It will take some time for everyone to adjust to the new way of dating. But one thing we all need to have now more than ever is patience while we adapt to the changes.