Dating (as an institution)

A dating problem in the US
I think there may be a dating problem in the US. The problem I see is that while heterosexual people have an innate desire to be intimate with the opposite sex (like hugging & kissing), nowadays it seems a lot of people aren't having that need met. I think that the dating websites that have sprung up have been created by people who recognized this problem and wanted to fix it: OkCupid, plentyoffish, eHarmony, and others I can't think of right now. If there wasn't some kind of serious room for improvement, I don't think Tinder and OKC would get as much attention as they do.

Dating is facing increased competition for people's time

• In the past, there would just not be much to do in a given town, and so dating / hanging out was what people did for fun.
• Nowadays, though, we have Netflix and videogames and YouTube all competing for our spare time.
• Women are able to meet many of their own needs, and so aren't as dependent on men as in the past.
• Men are also able to meet many of their own needs, and so aren't as dependent on women as in the past.

How could we fix a dating problem in the US?

• It may not be as easy as setting up a website or app like OKC and Tinder. You may need to have control over more of a person's life. It's just like education in that sense.