Any benefit to friends with benefits?

The most positive point about being friends with benefits is the availability of easy sex, without all the pressures of being in a committed relationship. This situation works best if both people clarify their situation before going into it. Both people must know that it's solely about sex- therefore, he or she cannot accuse the other person of using them because they both acknowledged their status from the start. Because, let's be honest, both people are in fact using each other.


It leaves the door open for other relationships. If you're not officially dating someone and only having casual sex, the odds are you don't really have strong feelings for then. Therefore, you can still get what you "need" and keep looking for other people- or even date other people- in the mean time.


This type of relationship could leave to a long-lasting relationship. If you're already good friends, and you trust each other, why not take it to the next level? Have you ever heard a couple in college who have been dating for a long period of time say, "He/she is my best friend!" A good friend really respects you. A good friend really cares about you. A good friend is someone you actually enjoy spending all your time with. Many people in college believe that you'll never find a more honest relationship than a friends with benefits relationship because you know exactly what you're in the relationship for.

Friends with benefits: No one gets hurt?

If you're in college then you've heard this before: Friends are friends, pals are pals and buddies sleep together. I'm not quite sure what it means, but I think this adage is used to describe friendships that are, shall we say, more than platonic. I'm talking about sex buddies- also known as "friends with benefits."

I've discovered that people who are friends with benefits usually have an unspoken agreement to have casual sex without ever pursuing a romantic relationship outside the bedroom. Though this term is a fairly new one to my ears, it seems to be a very popular term used throughout college campuses. If a guy and a girl are single and just friends, sometimes they decide to take their relationship to the next level- just for fun- without all the trappings of an actual relationship. Friends with benefits seems to be easier at first, but are the negatives that come along with this type of relationship worth the promise of casual sex?

Ambiguous Language

I've stressed the complications of dating in college- and just when I thought it couldn't get more complicated, I realized this concept only grows deeper with language. Just talking, hooking-up, friends with benefits and then there's my favorite- open relationships. These words are all used to avoid the dreaded concept of commitment. When did the simple word dating become so complex? Peter Osinski, 22-year-old Towson senior has been "hooking up" with a girl for over two years. Not dating, hooking up. He says that he doesn't want to give his relationship an actual title because he wants to keep his options open.

The ever unclear "hooking up" seems to be the most widespread phrase favored by college students. I hear it everywhere. A 2001 study of college women sponsored by the Independent Women's Forum, an advocacy group, found that "hooking up" was defined as when "a girl and a guy get together for a physical encounter and don't necessarily expect anything further," with the definition of a physical encounter ranging anywhere from kissing to having sex. My thoughts? Booty Call!

Whatever happened to college dating?

In the world of 2009, the word dating is not in the vocabulary of many college students. It's very uncommon for a girl to be asked out on a date from a college male- no longer is the male expected to pick up a female from her house and take her to dinner and a movie. No longer is the male even expected to be the one who initiates the so-called date. These unspoken changes, though every girl talks about them, have made me question whether the traditional game of dating is officially dead.

After interviewing random Towson students about their definition of dating, I found that some students feel that dating isn't officially dead, it's just become more casual. A 21-year-old Towson female senior says, "dating today is a lot more informal, where dinner and movie used to be the norm. Nowadays, meeting a guy for lunch on campus or planning to meet at the bar on the weekend is as close as I've gotten to dating since enrolling in college."

Sad, but true. I have friends in college who have been seeing a guy for over a year and they still don't consider themselves a couple- it's almost as if the term "boyfriend and girlfriend" is too serious and scary for them to admit.

In my opinion, no one wants to put forth the effort into dating anymore- though I know for some students (especially females) this isn't their idea of an ideal relationship. But then again, is there even such thing as an ideal relationship??

Togetherness is a intricate concept

Before I delve into the world of togetherness, it helps to define what exactly dating is in a practical college sense. According to Emily Bois, a 21-year old Towson senior who is currently in a relationship, dating is when two people are in an exclusive, romantically driven relationship. However, Bois adds that what occurs in that specific relationship depends on each couple. The basic commonalities are simple, really: having dinner together off campus, seeing each other at least once a day, getting in drunken fights, telling everyone you're sick of each other (when in reality, you know you're not). We've all been there. But again, it differs from relationship to relationship.

College Dating: It's Complicated!

If you have ever heard this phrase spoken before, you either don't go to college, you're deaf, you're partially deaf or like I said before- you don't go to college. Because in this world full of kegs and one night stands- there is a phenomenon known as being "together" with someone. It's not dating, but it's more than just a random hook up. So what does it mean exactly? Throughout this blog, I will attempt to shed some light on this enigmatic yet prevalent concept of college "dating" as well as its benefits and drawbacks.