Call me old-fashioned, but I just don’t get “hookup culture.” I don’t see what’s so enticing about having intimate relations with a stranger who could be an STD-carrying serial killer with low prospects of ever getting a decent job after graduation. Absolutely nothing about that appeals to me. Nor would I want to give away my goods to some guy I barely know only for him to disappear without ever knowing if he was actually as hot as my drunk persona thought he was. How am I supposed to be so carefree with my V when there are all these fuckboys out there just going for numbers? And I don’t mean phone numbers.
I’m the type of girl that wants to meet a guy in calculus that was somehow gifted with brains, brawn, and beauty. However, I know that’s probably a long shot, so I’m not above meeting a guy while I’m out. But we need to have a genuinely good time regardless of the alcohol, and I need to know him for more than a few hours before he gets all cozy in my jeans. Yes, sex is definitely an important part of every relationship, but I want three courses over good conversation before anyone sees me naked. I’m not saying I want him to meet my parents, but I do want to be treated like a lady. And a recent study shows I’m not the only one who appreciates what seems so lost for college-goers these days—real, traditional, sit-down dates.
Apparently, while hooking up is still a constant in the college experience, dating is actually just as common. According to the study, so perfectly named “The Date’s Not Dead After All: New Findings on Hooking Up, Dating, and Romantic Relationships in College,” plenty of the 24,000 college students surveyed from 22 different campuses are going on traditional dates and are involved in long-term relationships. Who would have thought college-aged men and women would actually want to date each other? Surprising, I know.
Among this amazing finding for all my fellow hopeless traditional romantics out there, there were a few other myths busted about college relationships.
Myth 1: The hookup culture has abolished dating on campus.
While 62 percent of college students claimed to have taken part in a hookup, 61 percent had been on dates. So, the number of people hooking up is essentially the same as the number of people who are dating. They also found that only 8 percent of those surveyed had only ever hooked up but had never been on a date or in a relationship before (see also: fuckboys). So, if you do the math, 92 percent of college students aren’t just looking to hook up and avoiding relationships altogether.
Myth 2: Hookups are only for those who aren’t interested in long-term relationships.
The study did find that men want more hookup opportunities compared to women, but more men also wanted long-term relationships compared to women. While 67 percent of women wanted Facebook official status, 71 percent of men claimed they wished they had more opportunities for relationships. So, just because a guy likes a casual hookup now and then, it doesn’t mean he’s not interested in something more. And just because a lady wants to get freaky in the sheets a few times, it doesn’t mean she’s written off relationships. We’re humans. We want everything—duh.
Myth 3: Hooking up with randoms ends with unprotected sex (and pregnancy scares).
The study found that alcohol, your good friend Mary Jane, and knowing your hookup (and, therefore, trusting your hookup) lead to unprotected sex. So, soberly hooking up with strangers is apparently your safest bet in bed. However, that is also the stuff of nightmares. Pregnancy scares, here we come.
Myth 4: Hooking up is only to “hit it and quit it.”
For those who think all guys are one and done, this will shock you. “When we asked people about their last hookup, they were actually on average on their fourth hookup with the same person,” the study found. For those surveyed, one in five hookups know each other very well. And hookups are not always just for a one-night-stand, but they can be the start of a concrete relationship. Basically, the study showed that not-boyfriends are a scientifically proven entity. Another study, The National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, found that 32 percent of marriages began with a simple hookup, which means a lot of not-boyfriends became plain old boyfriends who eventually popped the question.
So what you’re saying is there’s still a chance?.
[via NBC News]
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