10 reasons why dating in the 90s were more romantic, more sincere and more exciting

Last Updated on 2016-05-20 , 11:33 am

That butterflies in your stomach feeling, that first kiss, all wonderful aren’t they? The mere idea of falling in love is enough to get most reminiscing and misty eyed. But because the times have changed and technology has evolved so much, the dating scene has become, well, different. I don’t mean it in a negative way at all. Dating back then and dating now still hold the same connotations.

But why is dating in the 90s touted as so much more romantic, sincere and exciting? You may agree with these reasons.

A date was personal from start to finish.
Aren’t dates personal too these days? Well, they are. But dates in the 90s  consisted of  CALLING the other party via their LANDLINE (how many of you still have this at home? I don’t.), making a date there and then (time and location too mind you), and then waiting for the day to arrive. Basically, it was almost like a gamble to see if the person would eventually turn up as agreed. There was no other way to reconfirm the date 2 hours prior. Romantic? Probably. Exciting? Definitely.

Dates didn’t need to be expensive to be perfect.
Dates back then were mainly made up of going to the movies (didn’t matter what was on as long as you got to sit beside her in the dark for at least 2 hours and probably share a box of popcorn), a stroll in the park or maybe some window shopping. It was never really costly and couples could actually connect and enjoy their time together. Then the guy would usually send the girl home via bus so that they could spend that much more time with each other.

Sports at East Coast and Pasir Ris Park were considered legitimate date activities.
Yes they were! Possibly part of the plan to be inexpensive, going roller-blading, cycling and ending the day with a nice stroll along the beach and indulging in a satay dinner was considered perfect. For those of you reading this, you might want to consider bringing your date for a beach side stroll. It seems to work when you want some time to yourselves.

Buying little gifts for each other as and when you felt like it was a part of the dating game.
There’s a reason why so many experts consider the current dating scene unromantic. People have started to believe that the only gifts that matter are the ones that cost alot. Who ever said that? Back in the good old 90s, couples bought little, sometimes unnecessary, trinkets for each other as and when they felt like it. You could be walking along Bugis and see this keychain that felt like it was made just for her/him. You would just buy it and give it to your girlfriend or boyfriend the next time you saw them. And most of the time, these gifts probably cost between $1 to $5. Not too expensive right? And not too shabby either for your relationship.

When you needed to hear his/her voice, you had to call their homes.
Yep. There was no other way to communicate with your beloved when you are not physically with them except by calling them on their landlines. Isn’t that romantic?

Picking your other half up for a date usually meant having an ‘interrogation’ with her parents.
Remember that? I do. I even had potential suitors invited into my place for a drink and some television watching before. This was usual for the guys who had to pick their girlfriends up for a date back then. At least her parents would know who you were and what kind of person you were before you guys went out. If her parents didn’t chase her to come home as soon as possible, you knew you hit the jackpot. It was really sincere in this sense.

Taking the public transport home (bus or train), meant you had to make the best use of whatever time you had together.
Continuing from a point from above, because buses and trains have a cut off time, you had to make the most of the precious time you had together before catching the last transport home. Oh no, the SECOND last transport home. Nobody wanted to catch the last bus or train home. Nope.

There were many more open areas to sit around and just talk.
With so many buildings and structures being constructed over the last 20 years, alot of private spaces have been compromised. Back then though, there were lots more of these areas where lovebirds could literally have a fast food picnic and just bask in each other’s company until it was time to go home.

Every date was like a new date.
Because you will need to wait for the next time you meet to talk some more. You couldn’t count on getting her every time you called her at home so this was the only way. The conversation would never run dry as you would be gathering a whole week’s worth of things to talk about the next Saturday.

There wasn’t the interference of TECHNOLOGY.
The biggest culprit of reduced conversation and quality time together. You see all these couples at dinner bent over totally engrossed in their phones nowadays. That was never a problem back then. Time spent together was time spent together.