11 Perfect Dates In The '90s That Seem Weird Now

If you remember dating in the '90s, you might remember a much simpler style of dating. Without things like social media, Tinder, and other digital ways to meet people, dating was a very physical act. But dating in the '90s, when you think about it now, was kind of weird. A lot of stuff was weird in the '90s. Some of the things you did that were considered SO cute, or SO hot in the '90s, just seem kind of weird now. Of course, some of that has to do with the fact you're older and wiser now and don't consider eating at the mall food court particularly romantic, but a lot of it also has to do with the difference between what was deemed "cool" in the '90s and what's cool now. For instance, eating at the mall food court.

Maybe you weren't old enough to date in the '90s, but that doesn't mean you didn't have a concept of what the perfect date looked like back then. We all day dreamed of endless phone conversations and go-kart racing. And some of us were lucky enough to go on those dates. These days we want cocktails made by mixologists and farm-to-table dinners, and I'm sure in another 10 to 15 years we'll be face-palming over that, too. Here are twelve perfect dates in the '90s that seem totally weird now.

1. Talking For Five Hours On The Telephone

If you were dating in the '90s, whether as an adult or a teen, it was considered very romantic to have extended phone conversations. If you could talk to someone for more than two hours on the phone, it was probably true love. If someone tried to talk to you on the phone for more than five minutes today, I'm sure that would be a deal breaker.

2. Seven Minutes In Heaven

Locking yourself in a closet with your date for seven minutes at a party while all your friends make kissing sounds outside the door doesn't really sound all that romantic any more, does it? In the '90s, it was hot as hell.

3. Hanging Out Aimlessly At The Mall

If someone asked you to go walk around a mall with them all day Saturday, just talking and bumping into friends, and then making making out in the carpark, you probably wouldn't jump at the idea, even if you really did like them. In the '90s, that was the height of dating, and it was kind of rude if your date didn't talk you to the mall...

4. Going To A Movie Just To Make Out

Movies are so expensive these days you want to actually watch what you paid for. But in the '90s a hot date sometimes meant buying a ticket to a movie and not actually seeing it because you were too busy sucking face.

5. Driving To A "Sexy" Place To Sit In The Car And Listen To Dookie So Loud You Couldn't Even Talk

If one of you had a car in the '90s you'd use it to drive to a notorious make out spot, and play pop punk so loud you couldn't even talk to each other. So you'd just sit in the car kind of awkwardly nodding your head along. For some reason, this was awesome. 10/10 would not do now.

6. Going To A Chain Restaurant Like TGI Fridays

What was it about chain restaurants in the '90s? It was a vaguely ironic sort of date, but we did it enough that it also seemed kind of cool. Considering I already mentioned about the farm-to-table dates we go on now, it's unlikely the suggestion of TGI Fridays would fly.

7. Spending A Day At A Gaming Arcade

Like the mall, spending a day aimlessly playing video games and racking up tickets to get yourself a pack of sour Warheads was cute and romantic. It might actually be sort of fun to head to an arcade for an hour of nostalgia now, but it's not exactly the stuff of great romances.

8. Secretly Staying Up All Night To Talk On AOL Chat

If you were a teen it was probably secret, but if you were an adult who could do whatever they damn well pleased, probably not. In the '90s, it was the novelty of online chat that made it romantic. Whereas now we're all just trying to get away from digital media where we can, it's probably not so cute to spend an evening chatting to someone online.

9. A Friend's Party Where There Would Definitely Be Spin The Bottle

A coy way to "spice up" a date in the '90s was to go to a party where there would definitely be spin the bottle. I sure do hope none of you are still playing spin the bottle with your date in the circle now...

10. Having An Actual Video Night

The equivalent of Netflix and chill in the '90s was going to the actual video store and renting VHS tapes. Luckily, we don't need to go to this much effort just to watch movies at home any more.

11. Walking Around The Local Neighborhood With A Large Group Of Friends And Not Actually Spending Any Alone Time With Your Date

There was a lot of aimlessness to dating in the '90s. One favorite was being in a big group and just kind of doing nothing. You'd shoot coy looks at your date but never actually spend any alone time together. This was incredibly exciting. Now we like to spend some one-on-one time on dates, and group activities with dates tend to revolve around an actual activity, as the phrase "group activity" would suggest.

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