This week, a color-coded map appeared from Match.com, indicating the potential cost of a date, depending on the state in which the date-goers lived.
Costs were easily $100 in most states. However, there were outliers: New York with an average of almost $300 and South Dakota with an average of under $40.
Suffice it to say, viewers were shocked or validated, and many took to Twitter to share their experiences.
Match.com
Initial responses were largely surprised at the states who had an average of $100 and more.
This was met, however, with consumers confiding how easy it is to spend so much money, from rises in movie ticket prices to adding a bottle of wine to the dinner tab.
Some responses believed the map was too simple, however, and didn't include some essential information and considerations.
For example, a date in a major city will cost much more and may significantly impact the average cost of a date in that state, compared to the smaller towns and suburban areas of that state.
What social outings are available from one state to the next is something to consider, as well.
There are also issues of the context that surround the price of the date, some argued.
The cost of the date varies significantly, for example, between trying to impress someone you're interested in on a first date and going out for a night on the town with someone you've been married to for three years.
There are also specific variables surrounding the date itself: whether or not there was an activity included with dinner (such as a movie or bowling), if travel was required (gas money and hotel), and if the couple at hand had to acquire a babysitter.
This is certainly an interesting map that introduces the concept of disparate social costs across the states. However, without considering further variables, it's hard to take these figures at face value.
That being said, the costs of social outings are certainly on the rise, making it more difficult for those of lower incomes, and those also supporting families, to find the means of going out with their significant others and to build on new relationships.
I guess it's Netflix and chill at home for most of us.
While you're at home, you can play the card game The School of Life - Who Should I be with? Card Game - Sharpen Your Sense of What You Should be Looking for in Love, available here.
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