How Not to Screw up Your First Date

by ‘Jonathan Ribarro ’15

Fifty First Dates; more like the very first date!  A great number of men and women will go on their first date sometime in their lives.  It may be fearful, stress-induced, nerve-racking or a complete disaster.  Reflect upon your first date; was it stressful? Were you constantly trying to impress or create a good impression to your significant other?  It is okay for the first date to be stressful and filled with anxiety. That is how many first dates are.  Was your first date a day filled with fear, anxiety, and nervousness?  Or was it a day filled with success and the possibility of a new life with someone?

Reflecting back on the date, there are ways to ensure that it went well.  The first thing is the location, where did you go on the date?  Was it a long romantic walk on the beach under the stars?  Or was it in a location with the stench of inexpensive chicken nuggets and sweaty men protruding into your nostrils?  Obviously, we can say a walk on the beach beats chicken nuggets by a land slide, thereby signifying a successful date, but there are many other things that also provide insight into a successful date and how the ideal date should be.

Of the nine individuals who had been on their first date, 60% had reported that they asked or were asked via text message, 20% stated that they asked their significant other through face-to-face interaction, and 10% said that they were asked through a video chat.  Interestingly enough, out of the 60% who asked or were asked through text message, 100% of the respondents went on to have second dates or even had a lasting relationship come out of it.  This is clearly significant because this would tend to suggest that the old-fashioned in-person interaction is dying out, and now asking for a date through text is becoming acceptable clearly by a great many individuals.  It is undeniably much easier to text someone a question that in a face-to-face interaction would make one nervous or panicked.  With texting, the ease of asking someone on a date is much easier, but may be more controversial because there are still many people who are traditional and would rather be asked on a date, especially their first date, in person.