Study: Yes, Potential Baes Are Judging You By Your TV Preferences
When you’re on a first date, specifically a first Tinder date, there are only so many things you can talk about before crossing the line.
Generally it starts with the basics: your career, where you live, where you went to college, etc. Then, it shifts to your “hobbies.” Do you play sports? What do you do when you’re not working? What shows do you watch?
When I was a dating app aficionado, I always immediately killed my poor Tinder date’s innocent TV question by answering, “Oh, I don’t really watch TV.” He’d then correct himself, thinking I misunderstood, and said “Oh yeah, me neither. I meant Netflix, I watch Breaking Bad and Bloodline.”
Then I had to ruin all of his Netflix and chill dreams by admitting that I don’t watch shows on Netflix either. Apparently, that may have been why I never found a relationship through dating apps, according to a new study.
About 30% of single millennials have chosen not to date someone based on their TV viewing preferences, according to the study, conducted by Xfinity.
You’re already worrying about wearing the right outfit, or saying the right things, or making sure you don’t seem to prude or too slutty; but now you also have to worry about if your date is judging you for the fact that you watch re-runs of Gossip Girl from 2006 instead of “Orange Is The New Black.”
Just kidding, I mean, you can worry about it if you want to. But honestly, not having the same TV preferences doesn’t seem like the worst thing. It only means that instead of sitting on the couch and watching TV and snuggling like every other boring couple, you guys will actually be forced to go outside and do things!
Seriously, 75% of millennial couples say watching TV together has strengthened their relationship according to the same study. I guess that’s good news for those of you who Netflix and chill, but it’s also kind of pathetic. Perhaps it’s because we’re all broke and can’t afford real dates anymore? Or maybe we’re just lazy.
Either way, if your date really cares that much about the fact that you don’t love watching “Ray Donovan” with him, he might not be the right guy for you anyway. Besides, isn’t the whole point of Netflix and chilling that you don’t actually watch TV?
