Megan Henry Contributing Writer February 4, Gone are the days of old-fashioned courtship and taking the time to get to know someone before falling into bed with them. Instead, Facebook information substitutes the need for a first date, and grinding in the club has replaced cultivating sexual attraction. Relationships are no longer centered on whether or not to have sex, but rather the question of whether or not the casual relations often pursued by young people can lead to meaningful, committed relationships.
Part of the confusion seems based on the differing opinions of why exactly young people choose to participate in casual sex, and the competing roles of men and women in the hookup culture. For others, it is more circumstantial, and can change depending on the people involved and the cultural expectations of relationships.
Ally Johnson, a year-old Cosmetology student, has seen the differences location can make in the dating scene, especially when she compares the dating norms of her small Midwestern hometown of Jackson, WY, to those of her current home in the larger, college town of Wilmington, NC. Unfortunately, her experiences in Wilmington echo the dating experiences of many young women in more urban areas. Potential suitors will normally start a relationship by sending a few getting-to-know-you text messages and arranging friendly hang outs, usually culminating in sex within a couple of weeks, and concluding with a perfunctory phone call and maybe an obligatory group hang out after the goal of sex has been reached.
In many cases, it seems easier to become involved in superficial, no-strings-attached relationships. She contributes much of the hesitation to become involved in committed relationships to the pressure placed on young people to get married and have children. Munnelly calls attention to the importance of the relationship expectations people are raised to believe in, and how these expectations shape how young people feel about hooking up.
Munnelly also cites the stereotypes labeling girls as desperately trying to be in relationships and guys as feeling trapped and cheating as another main reason behind the hookup culture. However, while Mr. In terms of how exactly he would describe the idea of the hookup culture, Gallagher upholds his straightforward approach.
