Gen Z woman floored by 35-year-old man’s text after first date

NYPost ^ | 05 22 2024 | Mary Madigan

[yesthatjallen]

“Is he a bad texter, or is he over 35?”

Elizabeth Castaldi, a popular US creator, has sparked a viral discussion about the generation gap in texting when it comes to dating.

Castaldi, 27, recently went on a date with a 35-year-old man and she was baffled by the text he sent her the next day.

“Hey, had fun last night. Have a good day,” the man texted.

Then, in true Generation Z fashion, Castaldi took that private message, screenshotted it and posted it online, where it has amassed more than 500,000 views.

She added the caption: “I have to start dating people my own age. But I won’t.”

Castaldi’s confusion at the text message firmly divided the comment section.

Some thought she was being accurate and he was texting like a millennial, while others thought she was being unfair and the text she received wasn’t out of the ordinary.

“I’m confused how is this bad?” one person asked.

Castaldi replied that she didn’t have the “ick” by his formal text message, but his millennial texting style made her unable to tell if he wanted to see her again.

“Let’s be clear, I do not have the ick. I just can’t read him and I really, really want to go on a second date,” she wrote.

Someone else replied and said the problem with the 35-year-old’s text is that it was too sterile.

SNIP

[Ge0ffrey]

America is doomed.

[HombreSecreto]

Is she following the “Taylor Swift Guide for Love and Relationships?”

[JayGalt]

Moron Alert. The woman in question is paranoid. She is apparently completely self absorbed and obsessive.
The obvious answer is don’t try and dissect a simple text. If you enjoyed yourself just respond and start a dialog.

[Jamestown1630]

She doesn’t seem to have the personal confidence to do that.

Too bad; confidence is one of the things men find attractive in women.

[broken_clock]

It’s a great example of why grown men shouldn’t date children.

He should have written her a note in cursive.

[quilterdebbie]

Truth!!! But he should avoid her like the plague!

[FamiliarFace]

Poor guy doesn’t stand a chance.

He’s damned if he does, and damned if he doesn’t, text exactly the right thing.

[Red Badger]

What was she expecting?

A proposal?...........................

[Right Brother]

I think the real problem here is that texting has replaced normal human interaction. When I was dating, I used to use this archaic method called a “phone call” to ask a girl out on a second date.

[Dr. Sivana]

I disagree; they should be used sparingly, as text does not contain inflection.

Men who can write can adapt the writing to compensate for lack of inflection. Charles Dickens did not use inflection. Mark Twain did not use inflection. (I will not cite Shakespeare as his writing was meant to be performed live.) Heck, if Jane Austin were writing today I do not believe she would avail herself of emojis, though I allow their use by women in the same way that they may dot their "i"s with hearts or use smiley faces in written communications.

I might make an exception for the Chinese, as their written language was originally ALL emojis.

[mywholebodyisaweapon]

The ICK factor is strong in this one.

The chick, not the dude.

[FamiliarFace]

Some women have no idea what they want, and expect the man to figure it out for them.

I’d hate to be dating these days.

[Noumenon]

T-shirt spotted: Go easy on me. I’m from the 1900s.

[vaskypilot]

totally agree. The guy is better off.

[ConservativeMind]

Sadly for her, and him, that is how I would read it, too.

[Dr. Sivana]

Is that a reference to the Tim Blair classic from 2002

I am not familiar with that. I might look it up if you give me more details.

If we look at e-mail and live chat, we can look at it as an extension of the natural tertiary characteristics of the sexes' different ways of communication.

Women uptalk, men shouldn't (unless quoting or caricaturing a woman or weak man). Younger women can be cute when they embellish written letters or even waitress receipts with smiley faces or a heart over the letter "i". Men shouldn't, unless they want others to regard them as effete.

Perhaps a young man court a lady can be excused if he closes his letter (or e-mail) with a couple of "x"s and/or "o"s. That's as far as he should go.

[McGavin999]

The guy was just being polite

[TheWriterTX]

My response, if I enjoyed the date, would have been, “Same here! I really enjoyed getting to know you. You mentioned you like muscle cars. Want to catch a car show?”

1. Shows I am interested in him.
2. Shows I listened to him.
3. Shows I want to share his interests and fit into his world.

Depending on his response, I would know instantly if he was interested in return.

It took me less than 2 weeks to lock my husband down and only 3 months to have him thinking about marriage. He proposed at 15 months.

This girl has no game.

[Lizavetta]

It’s a great example of why grown men shouldn’t date children.

No kidding. If I had a date with a guy and he posted online a text I had sent him PRIVATELY that would be the end of it.

What an immature attention-seeking thing to do.

[Jamestown1630]

I need that.