De-Stress the Date

Last week we said to ask yourself the question, “Why do I want to date?” and gave a short list of reasons that might have given good cause to hit the reset button. This week, we want to talk about what is probably one of the best reasons people give to date, getting to know the other person. After all, how do you know if you would really want to build a serious, long-term relationship with someone without really getting to know them first. But, is the high stress, nervous wreck inducing situation of a private date really the best way to do that? Today, we’re going to give you 3 reasons why group dating just might be the dating de-stresser that you’ve been looking for!

Our first reason to consider group dating is that it is a much lower stress environment than the typical one-on-one date. Going out with 5-10 friends, watching a movie, grabbing dinner or even hitting up a retro arcade can be a really fun night. When people are having fun, they’re more relaxed, their guard isn’t up so much, and you can feel at ease just being yourself. You’re able to share the attention over the night rather than feeling like the spotlight is on you for the next 2-3 hours and you have to be entertaining, intriguing, or exciting enough to keep everyone’s attention.

Reason number 2 of why you should consider group dating is that it gives you the opportunity to really see the other person for who they are. We can all put up a front to get through a date but your friends will call you out when you’re being fake. The same is true for the other person. When you have the opportunity to see how they interact with their friends in a fun night out, you’ll have a much more well-rounded idea of who they are. On top of that, you’ll also get to see how they treat your friends, too. And, your friends will have the ability to notice things that you wouldn’t have because you were blinded by a crush. Group dates also give you the flexibility to drop back every once in a while, in order to share a brief one-on-one conversation with the easy exit ramp of needing to catch back up with the group as soon as you want to.

Our last reason to consider group dating is kind of a bummer but it needs to be said; safety. Sadly, going out with an acquaintance from work or a friend of a friend from school just isn’t as safe as it used to be. Group dating allows you to get to know the other person in an environment where you can feel secure. If you ride together with a few of your friends, you know that you’ll have a safe way home. When you are surrounded with by your friends, you won’t have to worry about them moving things in a more physical or intimate direction or feeling like you are in a position where you can’t say no. On the other hand, you never have to worry about accusations or allegations down the road, because you were never alone.

Well, that’s our list of reasons for you to consider group dating but we want to know what you thought? Do you have reasons we didn’t think of? Or, do you disagree and want to let us know why? Remember to leave your thoughts in the comments section below. If you liked what we had to say and think it would be helpful to your friends, please share our videos with them! We’ll be continuing our month-long series on dating and courtship next week, but if you missed last week's video or would like to see more of our content, you can find all of it in our 2021 videos tab!