In case you missed it, there’s another rule about online dating.
I know, I KNOW. As if we mere muggles didn’t have enough to deal with already, now an ~etiquette expert~ is dictating the do’s and don’ts of your cyberspace sex sesh.
Apparently, it is now a cardinal sin to ask your Tinder dude what he does for work.
A-yup! Myka Meier, the founder of app etiquette classes Beaumont Etiquette, told Cosmopolitan as such on the weekend, explaining: “[asking where they work] is almost like if you were to ask, ‘so how much money do you make?’ ‘So how well educated are you?'”
Well, Myka Meier, I have a few too many feelings about this.
Firstly, I’m not sure why you’re concerning yourself with the question “what do you do for work?” rather than “nudes?” (just quietly, I think “nudes” may be more in breach of the etiquette code).
Secondly, knowing what someone’s career path is is kinda super important in knowing if our interests align. For instance, as someone who loves eating peanut butter by the spoonful, dating someone who is A) A dietitian or B) in the Health Star Food Rating Industry really isn’t in my interests.
Thirdly, if we’re not allowed to ask dudes on Tinder what they do for work anymore, WHAT IN THE JEFF DO WE TALK TO THEM ABOUT? The weather? Their hair? Hard-hitting political news? How many nudes they’ve sent that day?
This. Is. Madness.
LISTEN: The Well talks about the new small talk question in town. (Post continues…)
Our jobs say heaps about us. For example, I’m a writer because the prospect of completing a law degree was excruciatingly boring. So, here I am, wielding both incredible laziness and a knack for procrastination. I don’t arrive anywhere on time, and I do my washing on a fortnightly basis. Nice to meet you.
Also, wanting to know if someone is your intellectual equal is not a crime. Dating a quantum physicist wouldn’t bode well with me, particularly when I want to sit down with my significant other and discuss the latest scrag fight on The Real Housewives of Melbourne.
As someone who is happily in a relationship, and who asked said dude what he did for work within 0.00007 seconds of meeting him, let’s cut it with the ludicrous rules.
Do you think asking someone what they do for work is rude, or just plain logical?
Top Comments
While it is something you need to know at some point, I really think it should not be brought up in the first five minutes of meeting someone. It just shouldn't be someone's defining characteristic and if it is for you, it will definitely ring an alarm bell for me.
And if you can't think of anything else to talk about... well, that's a problem in itself, wouldn't you say?
One of my first questions (after the usual stuff) was "have you ever been convicted of a criminal offence". some have said yes, some have said no. It can tell you a lot about someone's character. And just to clarify, if he said yes, it wasn't an automatic deal-breaker, it depends on the situation.