Dating in the digital age

Although it’s not something I frequently talk about on my blog, I do find the concept of dating interesting and I always like hearing about the ways people have met their partners. My own love-life and past relationships are also something I rarely talk about. You’ll probably know that I have a boyfriend but that’s about it and you certainly won’t know about some of the experiences I’ve had with ex-boyfriends in the past! Although not all of them positive, I feel like each experience I’ve had since I started “going out” with people (literally why was it called “going out with”?) has taught me something and left me with a lot of memories to look back on to either smile or cringe at. Either way, it was my life, my experiences and I’m grateful for them. 

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When it comes to actual dating, I’ve never had the chance to do it properly. Dating is so easy these days, with tons of free dating apps right at your fingertips that if I was in a position to be dating right now, I honestly wouldn’t know where to start! I’ve more or less been in relationship after relationship ever since I was around 13. Although arguably you can’t call a 13 year-old “thing” a relationship but nevertheless, I’ve kind boy-hopped since then (that sounds AWFUL, you know what I mean).

When I was a teenager, I was out all the time and had the biggest group of friends so there was always the chance to meet new people. We would often go to this Under 18’s rock club called on a Friday night which was so much fun, various youth clubs throughout the week and hang out in our local town at the weekends. Then as I got to the age of 18/19, it was clubbing multiple times a week. So meeting people was never, ever an issue for me.

I’ve had 3 long relationships and the longest gap between them was probably about 5 months. I had a lot of fun during those 5 months just being me, doing what I wanted and having fun with my friends (and various boys – wink wink, no shame). I’m kinda annoyed at myself that somewhere along the line, I didn’t allow myself more time to be single and find what makes me, “me”. Although saying that, I know that you can still do that whilst in a relationship.

Anyway, it was in those 5 months where I went on my first – and only – date. Yep, I’m 25 years old and I’ve only ever been on one date in my life. It wasn’t big or fancy but it was fun and I guess that’s all that matters right? I was met after work (I worked in Primark at the time) and we went to Nandos. He paid for everything – including a huge jug of Sangria – which I didn’t expect nor ask him to do but I thought it was a nice gesture. Although I’m not against paying for my half of a meal at all. We chatted a lot, had a laugh, went to a local club for a little bit afterwards and that was that!

So, I wanted to share this post because I think I’m probably in the minority here. I’ve never been on “dates” because I’ve never needed to so to speak? However if I was in a position to be dating then here are some date ideas I think I’d really enjoy:

My ideal date ideas

• A trip to the zoo
• A trip to the seaside with ice cream, fish and chips and an arcade
• A picnic in the park
• Ice skating if it was Winter
• Library and lunch
• Disney movie night at home with a takeaway
• A food festival

The thought of dating in this digital age downright scares me. So I’m thankful that I’m not in a position where I have to right now (and hopefully won’t have to!) I think I was already sort of, in my relationships whilst the digital side of dating was making it’s mark hence why I completely missed that boat. However, I know from people I’ve seen on Twitter / YouTube who have met their partners through dating apps such as Match Me Happy that very healthy and happy relationships can come from dating apps! It’s certainly not all cat fishing and horror stories!

If you have any super positive dating app experiences or stories, I’d absolutely love to hear them in the comments below!

* This post is sponsored by Match Me Happy