There are huge ways the dating game changes as you age. Chances are that you’re not going to be looking for the same type of person in your thirties as you were in your teenage years. As an adult, you’ll have a different idea of what is important to you. Here are the most massive ways the dating game changes as you get older:
Snapshot Survey
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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
Frequently asked questions
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?
Comments
Jessica: When I was younger I was always turned off when someone said they met a guy at a bar. Turns out a bar is exactly where I found my Mr. Right! Realizing that you can meet your potential mate at a bar, bus stop, grocery store, or walking your dog- opens up your options and your heart!
Sinfulli2Sweet: My biggest problem with dating right now is most of the guys I meet I feel like there is no creativity in planning a date or all they want is sex......I don't have a problem being single but I would love to find someone who is worth my time and I mean really worth my time. I seem to always run into the issue where the guy has no clue what he wants and unfortunately I won't know until years later. Hopefully I'll find someone again
Alina: Somebody who respects you, helps you grow without feeling challenged by you, protects you without being too insistent, admires you without being too jealous, helps you without making you feel it is something you have to pay back. And, the most important, someone who will be with you when you are going through hardships. This is a standard in relationship for me and yes, it has changed since teenage years. What is important, though, is that you also have to try and improve things that need to be improved. It is unfair to expect something from a person if you are not willing to give it yourself.
Sawyer: I couldn't help but think of Ted from HIMYM when I read number two.
Elisha: Loved this! I, unfortunately, haven't found someone worth my time as I get older. Darn!
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