What Are Your Dating Deal Breakers?
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Whether you’re single, married or somewhere in between, chances are you’ve been on a date and heard Liz Lemon from TV’s “30 Rock” shouting in your head, “That’s a deal breaker!”
Well, you’re not alone. With Valentine’s Day just days away, cupid’s arrows are ready to be fly, but our new survey reveals that some daters could benefit from dating etiquette class. The survey reveals dating’s biggest deal breakers. Topping the list? Poor hygiene, at 84 percent. Hopefully love will be in the air this Valentine’s Day, and not the unpleasant scent of your date.
While poor hygiene is the biggest dating deal breaker, a variety of other dating missteps made the list:
- Using their mobile phone too much; constantly texting, checking email – 75 percent
- Being rude to a server or host/hostess – 73 percent
- Talking too much about an ex – 70 percent
- Flirting with the server or host/hostess – 61 percent
- Date drinking too much alcohol – 60 percent
- Aggressive driving – 49 percent
- Not offering to pay for the whole date, or at least to pay for their share – 33 percent
- Being too expensive of a date (e.g. ordering the most costly food and drink) – 31 percent
- Talking about a potential long-term future together – 30 percent
- Using websites or social media (e.g. Facebook) to find out information before the date – 26 percent
Women were significantly more likely than men to consider dating offenses deal breakers, in every case aside from being too expensive of a date, wherein men were significantly more likely (34 percent) to say that it was a deal breaker than women (28 percent). The biggest discrepancies in opinion on what constitutes a deal breaker between women and men were for using a mobile phone too much during a date, at 82 percent and 68 percent, respectively, and being rude to a server or host/hostess, at 80 percent and 65 percent, respectively.
Dating can have many hurdles, but one misstep daters can easily avoid are money mishaps. Many modern daters often offer to at least pay part of their share, and if not, are cognizant and order moderately priced items. No matter what the situation, though, daters should strive for politeness and tact, especially when making that critical first impression.
First impressions aren’t the only difficult part of dating, though. Selecting the right Valentine’s Day gift can also be challenging ground in the land of courtship. When asked what was the worst Valentine’s Day gifts they’ve ever received, U.S. adults said the following:
- Bathroom scale
- Birthday card. Valentine’s Day is not my birthday.
- Pooper-scooper
- Dead butterfly mounted in a plastic case. It was our second date.
- Break-up text
- Card stating a donation was made in my name for a charity I don’t support.
- Laundry basket
- Pair of silk boxers that had someone else’s name on the gift tag.
- Stuffed animal that looked like it was won out of one of those claw games.
- Electric can opener
- Lottery tickets
- Tupperware
- Snowshoes