{"id":5799,"date":"2014-01-21T08:45:51","date_gmt":"2014-01-21T13:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=5799"},"modified":"2014-01-21T08:45:51","modified_gmt":"2014-01-21T13:45:51","slug":"are-the-rules-of-dating-confusing-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/01\/are-the-rules-of-dating-confusing-you.html","title":{"rendered":"Are the Rules of Dating Confusing You?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"text\"<\/a>“Going to O’Reilly’s. Join me at 7”<\/p>\n

When Sarah received this message, she wasn’t sure if Jason was asking her on a date or just wanted her to hang out with friends. The message came by text. She was hoping for more than a friendship with Jason, but not sure where he stands. Was this a gesture of dating? She wasn’t sure.\u00a0
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

Sarah isn’t the only one. A survey by USA TODAY among 2647 singles found that 69% of people between the ages of 18-59 who are single are equally confused.<\/p>\n

Is a date a planned evening withe friends, an individual invitation or a direct ask out?<\/p>\n

Usually, we think we need to show special interest in a person and ask him or her out. But technology makes the ask a bit unclear.<\/p>\n

So what can you do if you are uncertain?<\/p>\n

Text back and clarify? This may back fire. If it the invitation was only a friendship one, awkward!<\/p>\n

Go and find out as the evening unfolds. Probably an OK strategy. Be ready for either option since\u00a0you can’t always determine what a person is thinking or asking from a text!<\/p>\n

Call, talk to the person and see if you can get more information. Sometimes, a live interaction can help you read tone and intent better.<\/p>\n

It’s a new frontier but nothing beats the face to face contact!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Going to O’Reilly’s. Join me at 7” When Sarah received this message, she wasn’t sure if Jason was asking her on a date or just wanted her to hang out with friends. The message came by text. She was hoping for more than a friendship with Jason, but not sure where he stands. Was this…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[913],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-couple-relationships"],"yoast_head":"\nAre the Rules of Dating Confusing You?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/01\/are-the-rules-of-dating-confusing-you.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are the Rules of Dating Confusing You?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"“Going to O’Reilly’s. 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