[Buckeye McFrog]

There’s good reason why people don’t want to sit through a meal with a stranger for an hour, or often longer

Yeah, why waste the time or the money when you can always find a wham-bam hookup on Tinder.

[Blue Jays]

Given the likelihood an individual online date will not lead to a long-term relationship, this does not seem surprising.
Depending upon which party is paying, he or she may not wish to finance countless dinners for comparative strangers.
Both genders would benefit (from increased dating) by mutual agreement to split costs 50/50 for initial handful of dates.

[snarkytart]

Well you have to have time with people to just talk in person, see their behavior, little idiosyncrasies you can’t pick up over face time etc. That time at dinner for instance is used to decide whether you’re with someone of quality or someone who is gonna kill if you get alone with them. So instead of investing tine getting to really know someone you’d rather go through a bunch of losers who ‘like’ your online pic or ask you for nudes on DM.
Nice.
Quality takes time and effort. DUH!

[faithhopecharity]

gee, these young folks are not socialized at all!!!!!!

they will mostly wind up living single lives and staying in their mommys’ basements

they aren’t even willing to share a meal with someone ???????
maybe we need to ask McD’s to close down the drivethru lanes or???????????????? they won’t even have dinner with anyone?
how sad......
what gives!?

[discostu]

Good for them. Dinner dates suck. They’re a terrible way to get to know somebody, and just not fun. Only go to dinner with people you already know you like.

[Maine Mariner]

Why not a lunch date to break the ice?

[Two Kids' Dad]

Anyone who isn’t willing to spare an hour or two to enjoy a meal and some conversation with their date probably isn’t worth dating.

It’s not a game, it’s an opportunity to get to know a little something about a person.

[atc23]

If there’s no chemistry, no one wants to sit through a 3 or 4 course meal - just bail and keep swiping

[oblomov]

The worst thing for many millennials is “awkwardness”.

Isn’t this why people develop social skills? To manage somewhat difficult social situations?

I like having dinner on a date. But I have learned never to suggest it for a first date in NYC.

[central_va]

Foreplay is I ask her to get me a beer.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I thought they sent their children to public schools to be "socialized".

Doesn't seem to be working.

[Secret Agent Man]

“eating is too intimate.”

what a joke, they will hook up with strangers.

[DoughtyOne]

This has nothing to do with boredom and everything to do with the massive cost of eating out.

If you go to a decent place, order for two, drinks, tips, taxes, you don’t leave without spending $75 to $125 dollars.

Try adding up the cost of dating someone these days. It’s downright prohibitive.

[DannyTN]

I lose interest when someone suggests meeting for drinks only.

• Drinks are expensive, might as well have a meal. And I don't drink.
• It tells me they aren't interested enough to invest the 30 minutes to an hour to talk over a meal. Why would I waste the time and effort to go meet someone who is going to down $5 to $10 in drinks and not even talk to me very much.

[central_va]

Putting up this sign at the local Valero which always works for me:

[LydiaLong]

Coffee date is the best way to go. No more than a 45 minute commitment, cheap, and easy to depart. If you click, you can make plans from there. If you don’t click, you have a ‘prior commitment.’

[bigbob]

Dating now means screwing. So dinner is optional.

[Chickensoup]

My homeschooled son asked a few of girls out on a date for dinner and a film. Most did not know how to respond.

He now tells them he will meet them for coffee at the local coffee shop. It brings it to their level. No pressure. He then decides whether to invite them to next plan to do something with him, like snowmobile, or catch a film. He discovered he is dealing with women who only manage in packs. They act like terrified heifers when cut away from the pack.

He now is dating a woman who did not have a pack and seems to stand on her own two feet pretty well.

[wbill]

WBill Jr. is going to be head and shoulders above his peers. Women that are worth keeping around - ie, ones that are interested in more interaction than a Tinder swipe - will be beating down his door.... for the simple reason that he can talk in complete sentences, and hold a conversation for "more than 15 minutes".

Kid is going to need to beat them off with a stick, if this sort of thing keeps up.

[dragnet2]

Most young people and a lot of others can no longer afford to go to restaurants for dinner. It’s just too expensive. Just look at the price of fast food slop joints. So nice restaurants are out of the question for most of them. Same goes for buying homes, affording healthcare, finding good paying jobs, buying new cars, marriage, raising families etc.