9 Things That Happen When A 20-Something Dates An Older Person

There is a dramatic generation gap between 20-somethings and their older compatriots, and nothing makes this more apparent than the world of dating. It happens from both ends, but especially 20-something women have a tendency to disregard men their own age and date older, more established men. There is obviously nothing wrong with that because the age difference is only by a few years, but there are a few differences that you may notice if you decide to embark on that glorious journey.

1. Generation Xers will call instead of text.

This is a weird concept to the younger generation. We are used to a full on texting conversation but not advancing to the “phone call stage” until at least a few weeks in. It is not uncommon for someone older to meet you at a bar one night, only to then give you a call the next day to ask you to dinner. Remember, it is not too forward. It’s sincere.

2. They won’t immediately add you on Facebook.

Don’t pretend that you haven’t stalked this person on Facebook and diligently searched through every one of their pictures to look for signs of creepiness before committing to a date. They simply don’t think this way because their generation entered the dating world when you needed a college email address to join the social media site, and even then, they didn’t know what to do with the technology. They’d rather get to know you, not your profile.

3. They might not even have Facebook.

This generation is not as dependent on social media as we are. It’s okay, I don’t understand it either.

4. The text game is different.

You might notice that they use proper punctuation in all of their texts. They also don’t understand the unwritten rules of “wait as long as the other person did to reply” and “don’t seem too eager”. That is because these rules are arbitrary, and completely ridiculous. They know better. Learn from them.

5. They only have a Twitter account to follow the news.

If they even have a Twitter account, you wont find any witty banter between friends. Their news feel will only consist of retweets from CNN or Huffington Post.

8. They use different terminology.

They will refer to their parents as their “folks,” and might still say “telephone” in its entirety. That’s okay. You will learn to understand their language in time.

7. They won’t understand whether you are Team Britney or Team Christina.

Nor will they really care. When the pop rivalry was happening, they were probably already in college and Britney and Christina were what Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez are to us now.

8. You can’t talk about how crazy the 80s were.

Let’s face it. If you were even alive in the 80’s, you were in a stroller and catching up on the latest Barney drama while they were jamming out to Bananarama at their high school dance. Trying to catch up on their nostalgia will only make you look ridiculous. They lived it. You didn’t. Let them teach you, rather than trying to show off by what you learned on Google.

9. They don’t know what YOLO means.

It’s okay. Although it is a staple phrase of our generation, don’t take the time to explain it because it will probably be a turn off. There are many things 20-somethings can teach older people. This is not one of them.