Dating at NHS

The dating practices of Newtown High School students have changed over the last three decades. Relationships have begun to start and grow more online than in person. Over the last thirty years, the way kids are dating has changed. 

Today at NHS, you can see couples together at lunch or people texting from their phones. Nowadays, the majority of kids have phones which allows them to communicate online whenever. Students are allowed to carry their phones through the hallways and with them during lunch, all of which adds to the use of technology.

Senior Leah Morris, who is currently in a relationship, said she and her boyfriend met through mutual friends. She also said that they mainly hang out together in person both in and out of school. Leah thinks that people can definitely recognize that they are dating because they will walk from class to class together daily.

“I think meeting people is different. I think most people meet through Snapchat,” Morris said. She noted how she thinks kids in her grade mainly talk online more than in person, opposite to her relationship.

NHS Physical Education and Health teacher Jeremy O’Connell is shocked at how quickly things have changed since he was at school in the 90’s. “You would do way more things together in public than just being on screens. I feel like it's very vanilla and they try to get as many different snaps or numbers instead of paying attention to the people they're really interested in. I think relationships were way more meaningful back when I was in high school and growing up compared to now,” he said.

In the late 90s, technology was not a major part in the way people interact. Rather than texting something like “hey” or “wyd” (what are you doing), you would call the house line or go to that person's house. Often, kids would meet up at a place such as the movie theater, local ice cream shop, or the mall and interact face to face. In school, they would eat lunch together and maybe even a quick kiss goodbye before class. 

“It’s just disappointing to see what it’s like now because I don’t think people foster a good meaningful relationship. When one thing happens there like ‘alright I’m done with it’ instead of building upon something with someone they actually might like,” O’Connell, who also coaches the girls basketball team at NHS, said.

Many feel as if Covid 19 could be one of the reasons that shaped the way people are dating in high school today. Because of the lock down, phones were used more often to communicate. NHS substitute Mr. Carlson was a senior in the year 2020-21. He said that was when technology began to shape how kids dated. 

“Half of the students would be in the school, half would be online so you only got to see half of your own senior class every single day. That obviously made it very difficult because if you're trying to talk to someone who was on the opposite end you had to see them outside of school and that was pretty hard to do because it was Covid. It was very internet based,” Carlson said. 

Overall, interactions have been more online than it was in the 90’s but you can always see the occasional couple walking through the hallways of NHS.