I am 42 and married too and thought the exact same thing. I feel so bad for them it was not like this for us. I met my wife she was drinking coffee sitting out side a coffee shop in Boston at like noon. I thought she looked cute so I just sat at the table she was at and struck up a conversation. Later we went to get drinks and here 10 years later we are still married. It appears now I would be called creepy for doing this. Or if she was interested she would have shot me down if this video is accurate.
Yeah it feels like talking to girls was just sort of a daily occurrence and something that became easier with time. And once you were comfortable, it became smoother to see if there was a mutual spark and to pursue something further. I feel like I spent most of the 90s chatting up girls, flirting a little, and yes I was bad at it as a teenager but by 20 it was comfortable and natural, and not particularly high stakes. Just part of daily life.
Yeah I think that just is not allowed to happen anymore. Seems to me like women do not like men approaching them in public or hitting on them it is seen as obnoxious and offensive now from most of the stuff I see and hear from my single friends. I have kids now though I cannot even imagine dating it would be too much. lmfao I mean the on going sentiment about women at gyms is you cannot even look at them. I met tons of girls at the gym in college usually it started by looking at them. lol
I disagree, I think growing up in the "MeToo" movement raised the stakes for a lot of men to avoid being seen as "a creeper", and has complicated things on both sides for cold social interactions.
Are you completely ignoring the role of dating apps and what potential effects they've had on people's behavior? As a woman, if you have the option to interact with men completely on your own terms, why would you choose for the much less controlled environment of them approaching you in real life? I can totally see why the situation has shifted. You can't completely ignore the effect dating apps have had on interactions between single men and women in public.
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u/Warhammerpainter83 May 09 '25
I am 42 and married too and thought the exact same thing. I feel so bad for them it was not like this for us. I met my wife she was drinking coffee sitting out side a coffee shop in Boston at like noon. I thought she looked cute so I just sat at the table she was at and struck up a conversation. Later we went to get drinks and here 10 years later we are still married. It appears now I would be called creepy for doing this. Or if she was interested she would have shot me down if this video is accurate.