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Dating Then VS. Dating Now

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If you were dating in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s, what are some of the differences in dating that you notice between then and now?

I’m a late-90’s baby, so I obviously didn’t date during those times. I probably started dating in 2012. The boys that I dated in high school were always coming up with cool, fun date ideas.

It wasn’t that long ago.. but nowadays, I find dating “civilians” (what some of us escorts call non-clients) to be rather predictable and boring.

I’ve given dating apps a try.. and it doesn’t take long for me to give up and delete my profile. The men tend to be conceited, desperate, have a slice of lasagna as their profile picture, or don’t seem to know other words besides “hi” or “hey”.

Going to bars/clubs is no longer fun.. as you get all dolled-up just so that you can go to a place where almost everyone is on their phones and the men stare at you instead of approaching you.

When you do find somebody you want to date, you suggest going to the movies, visit a museum, or attend a festival.. and they don’t want to do anything besides stay indoors and Netflix & chill.

I’ve always enjoyed going on dates with my clients, but.. they are my clients. I wanted to have fun and date people without ruining work relationships.. but now I see that it’s not as nice as I thought it’d be.

How about you guys? What are some things that you dislike (or like) about today’s dating culture?
 
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I can’t comment on dating in the past either..
From my dating experience, sugar daddies definitely come up with the most fun and original dating ideas. Love love love going on such dates with them! They’d basically don’t have to put in any effort but still they do, maybe because there is less pressure.

I don’t recognize boys in highschool coming up with good ideas at all though. The best i’ve ever done with boyfriends around that time was going to the movies.
For vanilla dates nowadays, i usually go to karaoke. Its fun, available and can be as long or short as you want. I know Disney Land is a very popular date idea for Japanese girls but its too time consuming, tiring and too long queues for me. I’d recommend guys who do that to also book the Disney hotel for afterwards though.
 
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User#8628 said:
I can’t comment on dating in the past either..
From my dating experience, sugar daddies definitely come up with the most fun and original dating ideas. Love love love going on such dates with them! They’d basically don’t have to put in any effort but still they do, maybe because there is less pressure.
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Yes! That’s true!
User#8628 said:
I don’t recognize boys in highschool coming up with good ideas at all though. The best i’ve ever done with boyfriends around that time was going to the movies.
For vanilla dates nowadays, i usually go to karaoke. Its fun, available and can be as long or short as you want. I know Disney Land is a very popular date idea for Japanese girls but its too time consuming, tiring and too long queues for me. I’d recommend guys who do that to also book the Disney hotel for afterwards though.
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They weren’t the most expensive or fanciest dates that I’ve ever been on.. but at least they kept making an effort. I appreciated that. A Japanese boy even took me to DisneySea in my senior year. Really cool.

Although we didn’t have much money as teens, we still found ways to have fun on a budget. :)
 
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Cool. I can’t remember any other date during highschool other than watching “what happens in Vegas” in the cinemas.
 
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I’ve found it difficult finding the same people I’ve always been into online now, whereas previously I really enjoyed who I met. I’ve got a thought as to why that is: I’m incredibly old, nearly my late 30s, so I came of age during AOL (America online, the first online provider to have subscriptions + instant messaging in the millions), and there weren’t pre-built platforms for chat or hooking up; the people that were on there were generally actually real people (this is pre-bots as well, but of course not pre-cat fishing), so it was easy to actually find people likely to respond, and get some experience from that. Basically, if you wanted to find people to talk to in your musical sub genre in your area that are your age and are into the same kind of shows, well, when you went to those shoes you probably knew half the crowd.

Now, like, the pool is so big if you’re using Reddit, or even use Instagram. Like Tinder had just an infinite amount of people, all looking generally for things very different than me, and the chance I would know them from real life (or bump into them later and say ‘hey, you’re you and I’m me - we get along’) is just low, low low low. I feel like TAG is an appropriate return to form for once - the people here made the effort to get here; we’re into some similar things and may in fact see each other.

———

As for dating, I personally haven’t changed up partners often in the last 15 years, but I know that without changing my strategy (having things to do, going for experiences where we can talk about us rather than just watch a movie about others, or if it makes sense I prepare a meal and carry the load of making it memorable) since like, 2000, it seems like it’s way more impressive than it used to be.

On the like, four-five occasions I’ve just dated a local, I felt like there was a culture gap of expectations. I was not challenged, and they were like, finding me to be romantic because I remembered their name and called them back when I said I would. Whatever. I’m open-minded about it all but I don’t have much interest in dating someone who doesn’t have a lot of experience/high-standards/doesn’t already know what they like.
 
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My dating experience when I was single was in the '60s and early '70s. I did very different sorts of things on dates in high school and in college.

The former was more traditional - movies, driving around listening to music (on an AM radio, the only option available except for record players at someone's home), going to the beach or a park, picnics, school dances, parties at a someone's house while their parents were away, etc.

In college, my dates and I did a much larger range of different sorts of things...still movies, music and going to restaurants though (traditional stuff), but also live music (from small clubs to giant rock festivals), political events/activities (rallies, protests, campaigning and more), getting drunk and/or high (various drugs), museums, lectures, road trips, panhandling (to get money for some specific recreational purpose mostly), cooking together, recreational/experimental sex of various sorts, endless hours of conversation about nearly any conceivable topic, "nudist events" (not sure what to call them exactly) that sometimes turned into mellow orgies, living together (is that a form of dating?)...

I fear that I've forgotten much of the fun I had. :):(

-Ww
 
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Wwanderer said:
My dating experience when I was single was in the '60s and early '70s. I did very different sorts of things on dates in high school and in college.

The former was more traditional - movies, driving around listening to music (on an AM radio, the only option available except for record players at someone's home), going to the beach or a park, picnics, school dances, parties at a someone's house while their parents were away, etc.

In college, my dates and I did a much larger range of different sorts of things...still movies, music and going to restaurants though (traditional stuff), but also live music (from small clubs to giant rock festivals), political events/activities (rallies, protests, campaigning and more), getting drunk and/or high (various drugs), museums, lectures, road trips, panhandling (to get money for some specific recreational purpose mostly), cooking together, recreational/experimental sex of various sorts, endless hours of conversation about nearly any conceivable topic, "nudist events" (not sure what to call them exactly) that sometimes turned into mellow orgies, living together (is that a form of dating?)...

I fear that I've forgotten much of the fun I had. :):(

-Ww
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I’m feeling a lot of envy right now. That sounds incredibly fun! :(
 
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Right on, Wwandwrer.

There’s a lot to be said for having space, and different kinds kinds of spaces. I don’t often drive now, but I love road trip time, similar to “chilling at your friend’s place after a show” time, or just sitting in a wide open natural space and kicking rocks around or watching the stars on talking. ... all things you’re a little unlikely to bump into locally, generally speaking.
 
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MissInsomnia said:
If you were dating in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s, what are some of the differences in dating that you notice between then and now?
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When I was younger, not quite what you do on a date, but some differences that young ones can’t quite relate to, I remember stressing over actually picking up the phone to call up the girl. Because texting wasn’t a thing and cell phones, if you even had one since it was very rare back then, people actually used them only for voice communication and you had to watch your minutes so you only really talked to a girl for an extended period when both parties were on landlines.

There was no texting back and forth all night. There was the phone call that lasted all night that you got to know the person from.

Unless you met and talked through IRC, but that’s a whole different story. IRC was before AIM and ICQ in case some folks don’t know. Remember when you actually needed that AOL account before to use AIM. Lol.

Back to topic, even though texting wasn’t a thing, there was pager code, but you still needed access to a phone to send code and it used up one minute to do so if it was during the early cell phone era. Remember 200 minutes and the start of free calls to an out of state phone number? Haha. But sending pager code was only really used if the other one was in class or work because if you two were near phones, you’d just actually pick it up and call each other.
 
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MissInsomnia said:
I’m feeling a lot of envy right now. That sounds incredibly fun! :(
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It was, but these days there are a lot of ways of having fun that didn't even exist in our dreams back then - no mobile/smart phones (which meant the you were out of contact with your friends nearly all the time), no internet, no access to computers in fact, no movies except in theaters (and if you missed one during the 2 or 3 weeks it was playing, you might well never have another chance to see it), much less variety in music and TV (a tiny fraction of as many shows), no carrying around your favorite music with you, much more difficult to meet people outside your immediate social circles (lack of the net), much smaller variety of ethnic foods, no karaoke, no video games, air travel prohibitively expensive, a draft sending people off to fight, kill, be terribly injured and die against their will, much less effective medical treatments for many things...

Not better in all ways by any means, but I'm not complaining.

-Ww
 
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User#8628 said:
Damn i wanna go to a nudist party.
Well i guess a happening bar may not be that different
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Sort of, but a somehow rather different feeling...perhaps because you typically knew most or all of those present or at least had friends in common. Plus everyone was about the same age and tended to be like-minded. Also it wasn't particularly/always that much about sex; sometimes and/or some people just ate, talked, listened to music, danced or whatever...but without clothes.

-Ww
 
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I wasn’t allowed to date boys in high school, but I had nice experiences in college. I had a few boyfriends with whom I shared the same political views and music taste, so we would usually go to rock bars to watch amateur metal bands, camp out in music festivals, go to themed cafes with a good collection of books to read, and sometimes join the political protests and fight off the police. (Not because we want to be edgy but because it was a reality of life. My country has corruption sadly, and you have to fight for your rights) In college you can meet people with similar interests so my boyfriends enjoyed going to art galleries with me. Our country also has beautiful beaches and historical sites so a hand in hand walk in these places would make a nice date idea as well.


Did we save our country? Nope, it crashed.
At least I have nice memories that I brought with me to Japan.


In Japan, I like going to amusement parks, National Parks, onsen, or day trips to nearby holiday destinations. I also like to go to music festivals, but they are not as frequent as it is in Europe. I love TOHO cinemas, and some art galleries in Roppongi. Best part of Japan is you can sneak into a love hotel afterwards. My date ideas are pretty simple, but simple, uncomplicated things make me happy. I’m not much of a gourmet, and I don’t like Foie gras, lol. So for restaurants I prefer Washoku or Mediterranean :)
 
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Saitama said:
Right on, Wwandwrer.

There’s a lot to be said for having space, and different kinds kinds of spaces. I don’t often drive now, but I love road trip time, similar to “chilling at your friend’s place after a show” time, or just sitting in a wide open natural space and kicking rocks around or watching the stars on talking. ... all things you’re a little unlikely to bump into locally, generally speaking.
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I definitely feel/remember that...don't do enough of it any longer (among many other things). Your post makes me think of this vivid memory:

https://tokyoadultguide.com/threads/doggy-style.19709/page-2#post-184540

-Ww
 
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Simonka said:
join the political protests and fight off the police.
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That will probably sound like a really peculiar thing to do on a date to most folks, but it brings nostalgic memories to my mind. Looking after one another in a "riot" produces such strong bonding and, afterwards, such intense lust (if you don't get hurt or sick from the tear gas).

-Ww
 
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Wwanderer said:
That will probably sound like a really peculiar thing to do on a date to most folks, but it brings nostalgic memories to my mind. Looking after one another in a "riot" produces such strong bonding and, afterwards, such intense lust (if you didn't get hurt or sick from the tear gas).

-Ww
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I had a fair amount of tear gas in my youth, it seems to have some skin benefits :D
 
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Then and now. Geeessshhhhh

I grew up (wait....grow up? Nahhhhh) in the Sgt Pepper Era which had great moments and bad.....just like any other time.

Dating now seems tedious and boring. Not with me of course :p

I was in quazi popular bands when I was a kid and really didn't date (I got blown a lot) someone steady. Clothing styles haven't really changed on girls from what I remember.....love summer dresses

Problem with me is that I still like today what i liked a long time ago......only they don't like me back.

Drive-ins I miss
 
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MissInsomnia said:
The men tend to be conceited, desperate, have a slice of lasagna as their profile picture, or don’t seem to know other words besides “hi” or “hey”.

Going to bars/clubs is no longer fun.. as you get all dolled-up just so that you can go to a place where almost everyone is on their phones and the men stare at you instead of approaching you.
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Conceited men with limited social skills and clubs where people ignore each other instead of interacting? Sounds like the 80s all over again!

I dont "date" much any more but one thing that hasn't changed over the years is going to see live music with a woman. Same for going to the movies with a gal.

Simonka said:
and sometimes join the political protests and fight off the police. ...Did we save our country? Nope, it crashed.
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Dont take this the wrong way but thats just so cute! Come the day when I manage to get cash aside to book you, we'll have to have angry political sex together ;)
 
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