Dating can be frustrating, especially when Hollywood films portray picture-perfect dates and relationships that make most of us expect the same. When perfection doesn't happen, we can't help but ask: "What's wrong with me?"
Perhaps the right question is: "What's wrong with movies?" Because experts refute many relationship myths perpetuated by Hollywood. Read on for six ways that dating is different on the big screen.
Love at first sight happens all the time.
Movies like "(500) Days of Summer" and "Romeo + Juliet" would have you believe that love at first sight is a common occurrence. Two people lock eyes and — bingo! — they're suddenly smitten.
However, according to a 2017 study in the Netherlands, "What kind of love is love at first sight? An empirical investigation," love at first sight isn't exactly "love." Although people did report feeling an instant spark with another person at some point in their lives, research showed that this phenomenon is based on a strong sense of attraction rather than on feelings of intimacy, commitment, or passion, which are the qualities associated with true love.
The man always asks the woman out (in a heterosexual pairing).
Rom-coms often tell the same old story of boy meets girl, in which traditional gender norms run rampant. For example, the male protagonist is usually the first one to make a move when it comes to setting up a date.
However, this old-fashioned approach is slowly fading out, according to a survey by The League, an invite-only dating app. It looked at data from 100 couples that successfully got together through the app and found that one in three straight relationships started with the person who identifies as a woman initiating contact.
Blind dates are bound to be a disaster.
Movies have reaped a lot of comedic moments from blind dates gone awry, such as that disastrous double date in "When Harry Met Sally."
But they're not as hopeless as Hollywood would have us believe. After all, online dating revolves around constant blind dates.
According to a 2014 study from VoucherCloud.net (which no longer operates in the United States) that polled 2,511 married adults, one in four newlywed couples met on a blind date. That's a 25% chance of success — if your end goal is to get married, that is.
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