Dating Through The Decades

It may be hard to imagine, but the concept of dating has not been around for very long. This article will go through the history of dating in Western society starting from its recent beginning to what dating is like today. Hopefully you'll understand a little better what it was like to be a teenager for your parents and grandparents.




Before the 20th century dating did not exist. You might have heard about people "courting" in historical movies or books. The difference between courting and dating is that courting is specifically to get someone to marry you, while dating is to get to know a person better.

Year 1920-1945

It was around this time that adolescence (teenage-years) started to become recognized as a stage in human life with its own culture. Dating became part of that culture. It's from this period that we get the term "going out" because it meant precisely that -- leaving home and going out. Going out usually meant going dancing or going to the movies, and this required money. Often it was the guys who could afford nicer things who would succeed over those who could not.

The Great Depression and World War II put a damper on dating, basically putting it on hold until the end of the war.

Year 1945-1960



After the war, dating and marriage started to happen earlier. Dating would begin in junior high, and most people would get married between the age of 20 and 22.

In junior high, teens would meet in groups and partner off. Once you found someone you really liked you would start to "go steady". Going steady meant calling each other regularly, going on dates every week and exchanging love tokens, such as class rings or school pins.

 

 
Year 1960-2000


The role of women saw a huge change in the 1960's. The feminist movement gave women the sense of empowerment that they could be much more than just a wife. The invention of oral contraceptives (the Pill) and more widely available contraceptives led to more liberal views of pre-marital sex and made sex a more important part of relationships.

In the late 60s the first dating shows popped up on TV, helping singles find someone outside their usual social circle.

Year 2000-Present

Today we live in a global technological age. Dating is still very present in our lives, but it has changed thanks to modern technology. The world of online dating expanded our search for "the One" to the entire world. Now many relationships begin online without a face-to-face encounter, and nothing is ever official until it is proclaimed to the world on Facebook.

Technology has also made it much easier for people to maintain long-distance relationship. Expensive phone bills are not necessary when you can chat with your partner online or even talk to them with a VOIP service like Skype. You can even see them with a webcam! If you live in different time zones, you can always send an e-mail instead of waking your loved one up in the middle of the night with a phone call.

Another new trend is speed dating. Speed dating is a quick way to find someone. These are organized nights where you have several short mini-dates, and once you've talked to everyone, you choose who you would like to get to know better.

We have all these conveniences available to us today, and yet dating doesn't get any easier. Regardless of what decade you go through your teenage years, heartache and heartbreak remain the same.