Students compare experiences with dating culture
Students compare experiences with dating culture By: Natalee Gomez
As Valentine’s Day draws to an end, students discuss their experience with college dating culture and the pros and cons of dating apps versus real life.
“Starting out online is just easier for me,” Jason Bootz, a sophomore journalism major from Haslet, said.
People put on a different face being online or in person, but when meeting people in-person, the first impression is everything, Bootz said.
Growing up Mormon and in the LGBTQIA+ community, it was hard to date in-person, so meeting people online was how he started dating, he said.
“People hide their personality and true selves regardless, but over text, over time, it’s easier to kind of draw it out of them and make them feel a little more comfortable,” Bootz said.
Whether it is online or in-person, hookup culture remains prevalent in these college years, he said. There is less dating overall and more short-term meetups.
Bootz said he thinks the dating experience leans this way because hookups are easier, and at this age, college students prefer it that way.
“We’re all college students. We’re all exploring our sexuality, interest, dislikes, so none of us want to be tied down,” he said. “It’s not until we get older and more mature that we start to look for something more real.”
Anna Marie Huseman, a junior agricultural communications major from Nazareth, Texas, said she prefers in-person dating over online dating.
Meeting someone in-person is more wholesome, she said. There might be more instances for you to meet someone online, but the connections are not real, and they do not want to get to know you.
“I used to have them, but after three days, I deleted all of them,” Huesman said. “I hate them. I’d rather meet anyone anywhere else then on a dating app.”
Huseman said some people rely on dating apps now because they like the screen-to-screen relationship, but she feels it is not truly dating.
While she prefers in-person dating, dating apps became more popular for everyone because of COVID-19, she said.
“For a long time, there was no face-to-face communication. It gave people someone to talk to,” Huseman said. “Even if people weren’t meeting up, it gave them that connection to someone.”
Angelique Morales, a sophomore psychology major from El Paso, said she thinks dating apps gain more attraction at certain times of the year over others.
While dating apps did get more users signed up after COVID-19 began, it is a lot harder to meet up with someone than previously, she said. Pre-pandemic, the times of the year where dating apps seemed more popular were during the New Year and into February.
Morales said she does use dating apps but is still cautious because they make people vulnerable.
“I think people’s feelings more often than not get hurt when using a dating app,” she said. “You have so many options even when you start talking to just one person, you still might be swiping and find another, even better connection. How do you tell that other person you are no longer interested?”
There is a lack of communication between people, and because people are not face-to-face, it is easy to block someone, Morales said.
However, Morales said dating apps provide people with a little more confidence. When messaging someone online, individuals can be braver, which also can be a con because their real personality is hidden.
“Because of that face people put on, you think you connect with someone, but when you meet up in person, it just doesn’t work out,” Morales said. “I think dating apps can help people, but for now, I still prefer in-person dating.”
