Very few people are interested in marriage and long-term relationships today. Instead, casual dating is on the rise. Young people are more interested in starting careers, buying houses, and enjoying themselves than they are in tying themselves down to one person for the rest of their lives.
However, as human beings, we all need connection. More than that, we need sex. Sex is a natural part of life, and we all crave it. Casual dating is the way that young singles are able to still get sex and connection, with no strings attached.
This post will offer some advice for approaching casual dating.
Hookup Apps
If you want to have casual sex, then you need to download a hookup app. People don’t meet in bars and nightclubs for sex anymore; they meet online. The internet gives singles interested in one-night stands the opportunity to arrange hook-ups from the comfort of their homes. People use these apps exclusively for hooking up, not relationships. That said, some people do find that they are compatible after meeting up and do decide to enter into relationships. However, a relationship is not what’s expected from you. Nobody will want to meet you for anything other than sex, at first, at least. When you are meeting people on these sites and apps, it is essential to get to know them first and meet them in a public place before going back home. This is so that you can confirm that they are who they say they are.
Honour Boundaries
If you end up having a casual relationship, which is a little more serious than just casual sex, you need to honor your partner’s boundaries. A casual relationship is not the same as an ordinary relationship. Some last for two weeks, and some two months. However, if the person you are seeing makes it clear that they have specific boundaries (i.e., don’t message me after this time or don’t come to my house), then you need to honor those. Infringing upon your partner’s boundaries could lead to them terminating your relationship.
Be Honest
Honesty is just as important in a casual relationship as it is in an ordinary one. You shouldn’t, for a second, think that because the relationship is less serious and could end at any minute, that honesty isn’t important. Don’t tell lies about yourself (and don’t tell lies about things relevant to your relationship) if you want it to last or to at least end on amicable terms. Unfortunately, a lot of people feel the need to lie to their partners in casual relationships because they aren’t used to the flexibility and freedom involved in them.
Don’t Disappear
If you decide that you don’t want to see the person that you have seen anymore, then tell them. Disappearing suddenly (or ‘ghosting’ as it’s more commonly called) is a very disrespectful and even cruel thing to do. Even in a casual relationship, you can hurt your partner by abandoning them suddenly. They could spend a long time worrying about you or thinking that there is something wrong with them after your relationship ends. It is especially important not to disappear if you have had sex together. Be honest and tell them why you don’t want to see them anymore.
Keep Commitments
Just because your relationship isn’t ‘serious’ doesn’t mean that it’s acceptable to be disrespectful. One of the most disrespectful things that you can do is intentionally avoid going ahead with commitments that you have made (i.e., making an arrangement to meet your partner for a date and then just not showing up). If you can’t keep a commitment that you have made, then explain why. Don’t just keep them. You can upset your partner if you don’t honor commitments or if you just flagrantly disregard them. Do what you say that you are going to, and if you can’t, then give a good reason why not.
Communicate Openly
Open communication is arguably more important in a casual relationship than a serious one because your partner needs to know exactly where they stand. Sometimes casual relationships become serious, for example, and if you don’t communicate to the person you see that you want that, then they might still see other people or might not think you take them seriously and choose to terminate things. However, it is very rare for casual relationships to become serious. You still need to communicate openly, in spite of this, about everything, especially your boundaries.
Casual dating can be a lot of fun, but there are some rules and things that you need to know first. Not taking the time to learn these things can lead to you hurting your partner’s feelings. Be honest, communicate openly, and respect boundaries.