In the age of technology, finding a date can be easy ? but turning it into a relationship is a different story.
Lisa Pearce, a UNC sociology professor who studies family formation, said casual, serial dating ? going on many dates with different people ? is becoming more common.
One reason for this attitude could be an increased emphasis on achievements like graduating and starting a career ? for both men and women.
The other reason, Pearce said, is a relatively new cultural focus on self-exploration. She said this could be why online dating is growing more popular.
?There?s definitely been less stigma over time,? she said.
Balazs Alexa, co-founder of the rapidly growing online dating site Date My School, said the internet is an ideal solution for the challenges faced by college students looking for a date.
Alexa said the success of online dating sites is simply a matter of people taking advantage of new opportunities.
?What I see is that people are using services that they like, that are convenient for them,? he said.
But some students at UNC say they would not use an online dating site.
?Never, not if I was paid,? sophomore Malia Moore said. ?I think it?s weird. I would rather have somebody come up to me and say, ?Hey, you?re beautiful. I want to take you out.??
Moore said online dating doesn?t take enough effort.
?They don?t even have to ask about your interests because they can read about them,? she said.
Yet traditional dating can be hard to find at UNC, she said.
?I think it depends on which group you?re in,? she said. ?In some groups it?s nonexistent, like in my group.?
She said students with more stringent majors don?t have enough time for a committed relationship, and the lack of privacy caused by social media can put strain on a relationship.
Junior Ross Bradley said new communication technologies dating sites and texting often have ironic effects on relationships.
?Although we?re more interconnected, it also seems we?re further away from each other,? he said.
Graduate student Tim Cupery, who is teaching a class on family and society in the department of sociology this semester, said a college campus?s gender ratio is probably the most important factor to the dating scene.
?The ratio between men and women really affects bargaining power,? he said. ?In economics, the more scarce resources are more valuable.?
At UNC, the student body is 42 percent male and 58 percent female. Cupery said this unbalanced ratio makes the minority sex more selective, leading to a lower percentage of couples overall.
He said he thinks a bigger student body also makes exclusive relationships less likely, because people don?t have to worry about gaining a promiscuous reputation.
Melissa Ballard, a senior who works at Sugarland, said she doesn?t see as many couples on dates as she thought she would when she first started working there a year and a half ago. She said Sugarland is expecting more business on Valentine?s Day, but generally students come in groups of friends.
Jeremy Ferry, general manager at Carolina Coffee Shop, said the most common time he sees couples is on fraternity or sorority date functions.
?We do get student dates here outside the Greek mixers and cocktails, which are kind of like forced dates,? he said.
But he said he doesn?t see as many dates as he did when he worked there 10 years ago.
Pearce said that this might reflect a broader shift in marriage trends, as college used to be the expected time for people to find spouses.
According a report published by the Pew Research Center Feb. 13, only 51 percent of adults were married in 2011. In the same year, the average age of marriage was at a record high of 25 for men and 22 for women.
Waitresses at Spanky?s Restaurant said they see more middle-age than college-age couples.
?People in college date for a really long time or don?t date at all,? said Carolyn Belcher, who has worked at Spanky?s for seven months. ?It?s more common not wanting to be tied down.?
Contact the desk editor at university@dailytarheel.com.
Source: http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2013/02/dating-becomes-less-popular-for-students
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