So you have mastered friendship in the UK, but what if you
want something more? There’s a new person in your life that you laugh with, can
open up to, and whenever you’re together there’s always a ‘spark’, or maybe you
want to expand your friendship circle and find someone new to connect with…
sounds like you might want to try dating!
Dating in the UK is something that seems simple at first,
but the reality of it (much like a lot of things in life) can be difficult!
Let’s start at the
very beginning, what is dating? Well, in the UK it can mean a lot of different
things to different people, but it generally involves spending time with one
particular person to find out if there is something special about them that you
like, and to see if they find something special to like about you!
Many people in the UK begin dating in their teens and can
stay with a girlfriend or boyfriend for anything between a few hours and
several years! In a small number of cases, some teenage couples stay together
and end up marrying one another. However, most teen relationships these days do
not last to marriage and people in the UK will date several different people
before settling down in a long-term relationship or marriage.
People begin dating in a number of ways here in the UK. It
is not very often two people will randomly meet, connect and then one ask the
other out on a date, like they would in a Hollywood movie. People in the UK
tend to approach dating through group interactions; usually meeting people
through friends or co-workers on a night out. People will usually interact as
part of a group and approach someone that they like during this time. If they
get on well, it may then result in doing something together just the two of
them.
People in the UK tend to prefer the group interaction rather
than one-on-one; it can be less intimidating for both people involved! With a
group present, there can be less pressure to make a good impression as you have
the ability to interact as a group and make a good impression by talking with everyone
around you rather than to one individual. And if things don’t go as well as
you’d hoped, it can be much less awkward too!
As interacting as part of a group is seen as the ‘normal’
way of raising the possibility of dating, everyone feels much more at ease and
understands the situation. Having someone stop you in the street, pay you a compliment
and ask for your telephone number can catch people off-guard and worry them!
In more recent times, people have become more open to
finding that “special someone” through the internet. It was once seen as the
option of the hopeless-in-love and a place that only “nerds” and “geeks” would
dare to look for a date, but internet dating has become a mainstream way of
meeting new people. Like meeting people whilst part of a group, talking to
people online can be less daunting; you send a message, they send one back, and
hopefully a conversation grows from that. With a large number of mobile phone
apps and websites now available to provide this, the stigma once attached to
online dating is clearly going away!
The only downside to online dating however is making sure
you still have plenty to talk about once you meet in person!
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