Boys will be boys?

According to some research from the popular dating site Okcupid, men may not mature quite the way we'd like. Being young and twenty is a time of youthful vibrance, and of course young men will be attracted to equally young partners and vice-versa. It's all fun and dandy when we are twenty and everyone is young a beautiful, but once you're in your fifties and the boys still want to be boys it certainly may border on the edge of creepy.

Cofounder of Okcupid and researcher Christian Rudder published his book Dataclysm: Who We Are (When We Think No One's Looking, specifically researched the phenomena of man's attraction to those in their twenties. In a time's review article by Jack Linshi, he summarizes Rudder's findings, "men of all ages are by far looking for women in their early 20s." In a blog post by Rudder in 2010 he states, "a man, as he gets older, searches for relatively younger and younger women. Meanwhile his upper acceptable limit hovers only a token amount above his own age." (http://www.businessinsider.com/dataclysm-shows-men-are-attracted-to-women-in-their-20s-2014-10#ixzz3YStikxYQ).

So what exactly does this mean for dating beyond our twenties. Though it is shown that woman remain attracted to their age group as they mature the boys just seem to remain boys. I suppose hearing women complain about boys being immature won't change over time, because it turns out even beyond the twenties men still keep their interests set on younger and younger dating prospects. The reasons why are unclear, though I'm guessing it has something to do with man's attempt to maintain their own perception of masculinity. In this matter I suppose boys will be boys. A second argument may suggest that woman really are more mature. I would still humbly suggest to all you twenty something straight men, enjoy dating in your twenties, because even though you may want a 24 year old girlfriend at 65, the chances may be very slim.

                     (a graph from Dataclysm: Who We Are (When We Think No ones Looking)

 (a graph from Dataclysm: Who We Are (When We Think No ones Looking)

What is Love?

(a personal video created with the purpose of exploring the meaning of love )

What is love? love is complicated to say the least. I have heard before, maybe wait until you are thirty to fall in love. Having fun when you're in your twenties seems to mean, 'avoid anything serious.' As Elizabeth Spears said in her Huffington Post article, " learning how to develop a meaningful, sustainable relationship and keep it healthy takes some extended practice," and that practice is best taken place in your twenties. The twenties are an adaptable time, you change frequently and are molding into the person you are meant to be. What a perfect time to discover what love actually is. Sure, I have told you to have fun but also allow yourself to fall into a serious relationship. Experience with this love provides many lessons, lessons that we can take with us for the rest of our lives. " Being able to fully trust someone is so important when trying to figure out your life" (Love article pop sugar.com). Being able to experience this level of trust is just one of the benefits of discovering that love in your twenties. So, go out and allow yourself the freedom to love, you may not know what you're missing if you don't try it out. I hope I can inspire you to discover what love can be, and what it will be in your individual experience.

My Top 10 Best Dates in Salt Lake City

Lets face it, up until now I have been a bit serious. With all this talk of online dating and Catfishing I am getting depressed. In order to change the mood I would like to shine a light on the exciting part of dating, those first dates. The magical moment when everything is new and exciting. as Jen Glantz so wonderfully states in her Huffington Post article, "Your awkward dates and your late-night mistakes and the "I can't wait to come home and tell you what happened tonight" text messages are the experiences that'll keep you laughing throughout the rest of your life." Its all true of course, the dating life in these years can and many times are tough, but guess what, it can all still be so much fun. After all, the best time to be single is in your twenties. There are plenty of reasons why this is the case, I'll let you learn that along the way. I am telling you one of them right now, dating. Dating is one of the best parts about single life, and in fact it is one of the best reasons to stay single.

So turn the frown upside down, because now I am going to share with you my favorite dates and locations in Salt Lake City (since I'm a local of course). According to Forbes Magazine, Salt Lake City if one of the best places for single people. A local, Jennifer Ellen Thompson, 32, owner and instructor at Sonic Yoga said, "There are so many different activities where you can meet so many amazing interesting, like-minded people: people who are interested in a healthy lifestyle who don't necessarily have marriage as the endgame in mind." Check out my map of Salt Lake and try some of these places out on your next date. 

(Photo shared from Flickr showing the vast city of Salt Lake city from a point just as high as 'the lookout' as pointed out in my map)

Dating App, not so personal.

( an IBM Flickr photo/graph describing statistically truth behind online dating apps and the lack of
privacy and security they involve)


According to this refreshing list of rules for dating in your twenties, online dating is the best way to access that 'untaped resource of love.' Yet the truth of the matter is that online dating may not be all that it is cracked up to be. I have spent countless moments swiping left and right on Tinder, viewing profiles on Grindr, and have even briefly tried to discover love on Zoosk, but the truth of the matter is this may not be the best way to find real love. In MTV's hit show Catfish, main characters Nev Schulman and Max Joseph travel across the nation to help twenty something's that are using online dating to find the ones they have fallen in love with yet haven't met. In the show a Catfish is someone who, "pretend[s] to be someone [they're] not online by posting false information, such as someone else's pictures, on social media sites usually with the intention of getting someone to fall in love with you." In these instances the victims are often subject to hackers or people defined as being 'Catfish'. This TV show exemplifies the ultimate risk one takes when choosing to interact on dating apps and webpages. You don't really know who you're talking to.


As a contrasting view many believe this new online dating revolution is not only worth the risk, in the end, it will only benefit twenty year olds trying to date. Specifically according to Julie Spira of the Huffington Post, "As love continues to blend together with technology in everyday life, a variety of flavors of dating apps are helping to speed up the process for online daters." Her claim is not only are dating apps a positive thing, they are helping speed up the romantic process. So I guess despite the facts and risks, maybe online dating is worth potentially catching a Catfish or two.