MicMan is offline MicMan Post #1  March 31,2011, 4:04pm
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This was the cover story in today's edition of USA Today. The article deals with dating perceptions of college-aged adults.

The setup:

The relationship game among college-age adults today is a muddle of seemingly contradictory trends. Recent studies indicate that traditional dating on campuses has taken a back seat to no-strings relationships in which bonds between young men and women are increasingly brief and sexual.

But even as casual sex — often called "hookups" or "friends with benefits" — is a dominant part of campus life, a new report by the National Center for Health Statistics indicates the percentages of men and women 18-24 who say they are virgins also are increasing.

It all reflects an emerging paradigm that is altering the nature of sex and relationships among young adults: fewer men than women on campuses; a more openly sexual society that often takes cues from media, and a declining desire to make relationship commitments early in life.

Read on...
 
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Gr8Guyn2008 is offline Gr8Guyn2008 Post #2  March 31,2011, 4:12pm
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Are you just reporting to the boards that this article was in USA Today or are you looking for comments and opinions on the article?

It is obvious that the writer / researcher is not an old hippie from the days of "make love not war". It would also be assumed that they don't teach the '60s and '70s era in school anymore.
 
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LDJ is offline LDJ Post #3  March 31,2011, 5:32pm
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At the risk of sounding like my Mother, nothing has changed, there will always be a certain segment of people who seek to validate meaningless sexual encounters as some sort of fulfilling "connection" but eventually they too realize it is empty and meaningless and they too will find they get more from a deeper more all encompassing relationship.
 
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richey is offline richey Post #4  April 1,2011, 12:40am
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it's easy to take potshots at casual relationships (it's what society has always done). But to do so and say they "all end up empty and meaningless"... sorry.. that just isn't true.

Some of the people I"ve maintained a friendship with longest (amongst females) and have had a more fulfilling friendship with ~ are people I've had casual relations with.

I can certainly tell you that the worst relationships in my life, and the ones that have been horrible, have DEFINITELY NOT been my casual relationships.

Richey
 
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oneplusfive is offline oneplusfive Post #5  April 1,2011, 6:46am
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I'm with Richey.

I have plenty of fond memories of women who were friends with benefits, but don't get me started on my ex-wife.

There is a woman in my life like that right now. We recognize that our lives are going different directions, and that forcing a long term committed relationship would make both of us give up things that are important to us. But in the meantime, we can bring each other happiness and enjoy it while it lasts.

Disconnecting love and ownership really isn't such a bad thing.
 
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iswimfly81 is offline iswimfly81 Post #6  April 1,2011, 11:44am
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This is certainly not some sort of new phenomenon. It was the same way when I was in college 10 years ago. Lots of short, casual relationships (which may or may not have involved sex). "Dating" meant you brought someone of the opposite gender to your fraternity or sorority party, you met up at a bar, etc. Even when I started dating my ex halfway through undergrad, we didn't go on many traditional "dates" unless it was when we were both home over break...but we went to different schools and were from the same hometown, so our "dates" while we were at school were weekend visits.
 
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MicMan is offline MicMan Post #7  April 1,2011, 3:34pm
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Gr8Guyn2008 wrote :
Are you just reporting to the boards that this article was in USA Today or are you looking for comments and opinions on the article?
You sure do seem to enjoy questioning my motivations for posting articles.

This is a discussion board. People post and discuss things they find topical and interesting. I posted something topical to the dating scene. This is not Jeopardy and not everything needs to be in the form of a question.
 
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mitchell175 is offline mitchell175 Post #8  April 1,2011, 4:25pm
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MicMan wrote :
But even as casual sex — often called "hookups" or "friends with benefits" — is a dominant part of campus life, a new report by the National Center for Health Statistics indicates the percentages of men and women 18-24 who say they are virgins also are increasing.
This article makes a lot of sense to me. It would at first seem contradictory that the "hookup culture" has grown more prominent among young adults, but the number of virgins in that same age range is increasing. However, I think there are still a lot of people who would rather have sex in the context of a relationship. In that case, they are probably waiting longer to have sex, rather than just giving in to the hookup culture.

I don't think MicMan was offering any sort of commentary on the fact that people should or shouldn't have casual sex relationships. Did anyone else actually read the article?
 
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