Casual Dating vs. Going Steady: Is Love Still in Style?
By Samya Rosario
Let's be real, dating in college is a whole different ball game. One minute you're in the talking stage, the next you're someone's sneaky link, and before you know it, you're six months into a situationship wondering, "So... what are we?"
Whatever happened to simply asking someone to be your boyfriend or girlfriend?
Nowadays, there's a label for everything. You've got friends with benefits, sneaky links, casual dating, exclusive dating, and the classic "we're just vibing."
With all these options, is casual dating really giving college students more freedom, or is it just creating more confusion?
On one hand, casual dating allows students to explore their options without the pressure of commitment. Between assignments, internships, jobs, and maintaining a social life, who really has time to argue about why someone liked another person's Instagram story? But let's not pretend casual dating is always stress-free. Sometimes someone catches feelings, and suddenly that "no strings attached" agreement has a whole lot of strings.
Then there's going steady. Having someone to support you through finals, bring you food after a long day, and actually claim you in public sounds pretty nice. But relationships also require time, communication, trust, and effort.
What Do Barry Students Think?
To find out how students really feel about dating in college, The Buccaneer surveyed 16 students about their dating preferences, relationship challenges, and which dating styles they believe are less stressful.
Surprisingly, about 44% preferred going steady in a committed relationship, making it the most popular choice. Meanwhile, 25% preferred casual dating, another 25% preferred staying single, and only 6.2% chose situationships.
So maybe commitment isn't as outdated as we thought. But what makes dating so complicated?
37.5% identified trust issues and mixed signals as the biggest challenge of dating in college. Another 31.2% struggled with balancing
relationships, school, and work, while 25% said finding someone who wants the same thing was their biggest obstacle. Only 6.2% selected a lack of communication or commitment.
When asked which dating style is less stressful, 56.2% chose going steady, compared to just 6.2% who selected casual dating. Meanwhile, 37.5% believed both dating styles have their challenges.
It seems that while casual dating promises freedom, many of the students surveyed associate commitment with stability and emotional support.
So, What's the Better Option?
Maybe the real issue isn't casual dating versus commitment. Maybe it's that people aren't always honest about what they want. Because whether you're looking for your future spouse or just someone to Netflix and chill with, one thing that should always be clear is intentions. A ton of tears and heartbreaks would be saved if everything is clear from the jump, no fluff just genuine communication of what you're looking for.
At the end of the day, college is about figuring yourself out, and that includes figuring out what you want from a relationship.
So, Barry students, are we dating to marry, dating for fun, or just wasting each other's time?
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