It may be a distant memory, but once upon a time guys and gals in the UK were a little different. When it came to looking for love they had to get out and about. Whether it was hooking up with colleagues from work, Ukrainian brides or some random in a bar, the hunt for love involved actually leaving the house.
As technology has developed, we have had to learn new skills. We’ve even had to learn a new language just to get by. As we read on a recent blog by Betway, online dating has allowed us all to connect and makes hooking up so much easier, regardless of one’s lifestyle choices. Now, we are not technophobe, but for us, the growth of online dating has serious consequences for UK traditions.
The death of the cheesy chat-up line
How many of us have fond recollections of memorising and reciting some of the best chat up lines ever? It once worked that boy met girl. Boy wonders over to girl at bar. Boy gives cheesy chat-up line. Girl laughs in boys face and leaves. Yes, it was embarrassing, almost soul-destroying, but that was part of the fun. Who remembers classics such as “Did you just come out of the oven? Because you’re hot,” and “How come you’re not on top of a Christmas tree? We thought that’s where angels belonged.”?
We will never need to impart such knowledge to our children. They might just be too busy posing and pouting with the aim of posting the perfect selfie. We suppose as long as they leave it above the waist, then we can live with that, but still, we’re saddened that such lines may die with our generation.
The decline of the aftershave industry
Online dating removes some of the obstacles that we used to face a few decades ago. Back in the day, dare we say, we’d be primed and ready. Hair gelled back, shoes shining, and shirt showing just enough chest. We looked great (although some of us have seen photos since that may have challenged that thought), the next issue was how to stay looking great. The smoke-filled sweat-inducing clubs were not to do our hair any favours. The solution? If we could not stay looking good, we would smell good. Aftershave. Bucket loads of aftershave. Topped up constantly by the toilet attendant too, we’re told that still exists.
Online dating is all about the photo. Yes, there are times when meetings take place but that’s more likely to be somewhere more civilised like a nice pub or a restaurant. No one needs aftershave to increase their online success. No one needs bucket loads of the stuff to sit down for a meal. We believe we did our part for the UK economy and fear for what is to come in the future as aftershave sales decline.
The end of the slow dance
As the morning hours came around, the sad, the desperate, and the lonely were still left in the clubs. Why were we there We were willing the damn DJ to put on that last song of the night. The slow one. The one where you awkwardly hung to anyone you could find knowing that you could use drink as an excuse the next morning. It was a dance that had to be mastered. One that showed your interest, but hopefully didn’t give too much away.
With online dating available in pretty much every country in the world, there’s no need to master this art. A few cheeky lines on an app just isn’t the same. Yes, there may be dancing down the line, but gone are the days of the slow pickup moves that our generation created.