The bizarre new dating technique that is going viral

That dating life isn't always that easy I think every single person knows that. The nerves beforehand, the stress about what to wear, even figuring out what you want to do... Eating out? But what if there's no chemistry and you have to sit through three courses? Maybe just grab a drink somewhere? Are you going to sit across from that date or next to them? And who pays? Are you splitting, do you want to treat, or do you want to be treated, and how do you communicate that most smoothly?

So many questions and a clear good answer doesn't exist, because it all varies so much from person to person. That's why I always find general ‘dating rules’ such nonsense. For example, that the man should always pay for the first date; why do people still want that? I find it completely bizarre if that's always expected from a man in a heterosexual relationship, even if they've been together for a long time. 50/50 seems like a perfectly reasonable goal in any relationship, unless one is clearly in a very different financial situation.

So you can imagine that I'm not very warm to this new dating technique: the ‘2,000 dollar date rule’. The name says it all a bit; it's a technique devised by ‘dating expert’ Jana Hocking who encourages women to only go to bed with a man after he has spent 2,000 dollars (or euros) on them.

‘I mean, if a libido can hold out that many dates, he's really a keeper,’ Hocking told an Australian news site.

She continues: ‘The second reason why I like this rule, and I think this is the most important, is that spending so much time together without getting distracted by each other without clothes will help us resolve all irritations early on.’

Look, she does have some good arguments there: spending time together is of course good for building a bond (although that falls a bit into the category of ‘is the pope Catholic?’), but why does so much money have to be attached to it? And why do we want a man to pay for the woman?! The ’50s are calling, they want their dating standards back...

Jana Hocking is completely convinced of this, although there is one ‘but’. This rule should only apply to normal people and not to the very rich, because then 2,000 dollars (or euros) isn't much — that's pocket change for millionaires. No, this rule is only for people who consider 2,000 dollars or euros a lot of money, because only then would you know if it's really serious.

I'll skip this line if you don't mind... I'm not an official dating expert, but I still feel like I have a more normal perspective on this than this Mrs. Hocking.

Image: Netflix