The Rising Popularity Of 'Dry Dating'
A glass of alcohol-free wine is pictured in a bar in Frankfurt. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A glass of alcohol-free wine is pictured in a bar in Frankfurt.
KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty ImagesImagine you're getting ready for a first date. You're excited — but you're also nervous. Your last few dates didn't go so well and you're really hopeful about this new romantic connection.
Before you leave home, you have a glass of wine to settle your nerves. At the bar, you have a second glass before your date arrives. You feel so much lighter. You don't even remember why you were nervous. When your date arrives, you order a third glass of wine with dinner and, before you know it, you're telling them about that weird dream you had and about your back pimples.
Feeling embarrassed, you down the rest of your wine.
Many of us have been in a situation like this before, whether we were the ones who had one too many drinks or our dates were. It's not uncommon — or even always bad — to drink on a date. But at what point does alcohol hinder our ability to make true romantic connections. Or blunt our decision-making so that we wind up with someone our sober selves wouldn't have chosen?
Dry dating is becoming more popular. According to a 2024 survey from the dating site DatingNews.com, nearly 2 in 3 Gen-Z and Millennials said they preferred alcohol-free dates.
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, what are some of the benefits of dating and intimacy without alcohol?
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