Has dating always been a game of catching frogs?

A scene from Disney's animated movie "The Princess and the Frog." (Credit: Google Images)

Where are people going on dates? The actual sit-down, eat dinner, don’t talk with your mouth full and forcefully laugh at every joke type of date.  

Do they still even exist? Or what is the modern version of this? 

In my world, in both personal and through conversations with others, dates are somewhat hard to come by. But despite the scarcity in action, it is high on the topics of conversation.  

There are three ways you can get a date.  

1. Simply go out and ask someone.  

2. Dating apps. 

3. Blind dates or set-ups. 

To put it in stock market terms, to simply go out and ask someone is heading into the “bear market.” A sharp decline, to put it shortly.  

In my opinion, dating apps are hell on earth. Swipes are like the imagined playground slide with razor blades that I was warned about as a kid when adults described what hell was.  

And as for blind dates or set-ups, when was the last time you heard of someone meeting another from a blind date or was set up by their friends?  

The romantic scene has switched from love letters to liking someone's Instagram story.

Telling someone you want to go out has switched to a second too long lingering eye contact that most take as “weird.” 

Sending a “drinks?” text reads on the other line as “sex?”

Has romance died in the twenty-first century?

Within friendship circles, I know three couples. 

One started with “Hey, can I give you my number?” The second one started with a quick swipe and immense luck on Tinder and the third one, a back-and-forth flirting game with origami in class.  

Each has passed the stages of experiencing a new kind of freedom in their twenties.  

A one, two, three, or a few dates later and poof, a full labeled couple is sitting on the couch in front of me while I try and spark up some quick conversation to make a good first impression. 

I look at these couples with both awe and the recurring question of “God, are we dating just to pretend we’re married?” 

A part of me only sees the co-dependency of constantly having the other person in sight. The constant show-off of a funny story that only two of them would know, but we laugh regardless.  

However, I recently went on a date. Yes, the cute little afternoon art gallery, then an overpriced coffee type of date; he paid.  

It was a rekindle of an old flame. I sent the typical drunken text and the rest was history, as they say.  

I surprisingly took my advice and simply “sent the text.”  

It was a simple yet good first date. Nothing went wrong; it was a two-hour talk and walk. 

The date ended with no kiss. They normally say no sex on the first date, not no kiss. But nerves got the better of me.  

Isn't delayed gratification the definition of maturity?  A question for this generation’s culture, it seems. 

Many expectations come with going on a first date. It seems like if you have that instant chemistry, it's meant to be. The trail from point A to the X of the treasure is forgotten.  

No one just stays on point A, or even slowly moves to point B. 

Can’t we just throw the ball in a nice game of “catch”? No need to throw and run as fast as you can to first, second, or even third base.  

Unfortunately, there's no rulebook in cases like this and like my mom always tells me, “you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.” 

I couldn't help but wonder, are we confusing a random frog for our prince just because we refuse to kiss any more slimy green mouths?