1. More Serious Conversations

When you date as a teenager, you’re worried about what you’ll do that weekend or how good of a kisser he is. When you’re older, you’ll wonder if your partner is marriage material and if you want to settle down in the same state. The discussions and fights you have will be more serious, because they’re life-altering. The increasing importance of being on the same page is of the biggest ways the dating game changes as you age.

2. Meaning Changes

In high school, you hear teenagers tossing around the word ‘love’ after days of dating. When you get older, the words hold more meaning. You won’t tell someone you love them on your first date, unless you’re ready for them to run the other way. When you’re older, you’re going to save the L word for a special occasion

3. Everything Moves Faster

When you’re a teenager, you can spend months in the same class as someone before they ask for your number. As an adult, you might have to make the night you meet someone, in fear that you’ll never see them again. There are exceptions, of course, but most of the time you’ll meet a great guy while at a bar or store. If you don’t flirt during your first encounter, say goodbye to a potential relationship.

4. Bigger Complaints

When you're in school, your biggest complaint about your partner might be that he’s failing a class or two. While that’s certainly not a good thing, the problems will only get worse as you age. If your partner loses their job, it's going to affect your lives in a major way.

5. Different Desirable Qualities

Your taste might not change drastically, but some things are sure to be different. You're not going to be as focused on landing an athlete as you are on getting with an ambitious man with high hopes. You have to readjust your desires to match your current lifestyle.

6. Better Idea of What You Want

Experience comes with age. You'll learn what you do and don't want in a man or woman after being in a few relationships. Heartbreak is unavoidable, but you'll have an easier time weeding out the good guys for you once you're older. In some ways, dating gets more difficult when you're older, but knowing exactly what you want is beneficial, and definitely makes dating life easier.

7. Broader Pasts

Someone's past can be an indicator of their future actions, but you have to remember that everyone makes mistakes. The older someone is, the more time they've had to screw up. Don't automatically dismiss someone, because they've done a few bad things in the past. No one is perfect.

Dating changes with age, just like you do. What's your biggest problem with dating? Do you like being single and looking around, or are you having too hard of a time finding someone worth your time?