By: Ella Kapfhammer
Everybody loves love. Lots of Bellbrook High School (BHS) students are in relationships, but they aren’t the only ones. Some teachers recently got married, and some have been married for years. Dating has changed drastically over the years. The use of dating apps and social media makes Gen Z’s experience with dating much different than those in past generations.
BHS Senior Alaina Bayer has been dating her boyfriend for almost two and a half years. He is now a freshman at the University of Cincinnati while Bayer is still in high school. “At first the idea of long distance, especially while still in high school, was nerve-racking,” Bayer said. “So far it has been ok. We talked about it a lot and set boundaries, which is important, but most importantly we trust each other. I get to see him every few weeks which is really nice.”
Bayer claims that lots of teens are reliant on social media, but that has never been the case for her. “I don’t need reassurance of what other people think about me or my relationships with other people,” Bayer said.
Nicole Kaeck, a BHS English teacher, got married in 2023. She met her now husband on a dating app called “Bumble” in 2020 in the midst of Covid where meeting new people face-to-face was limited. Kaeck has noticed a difference in how high school students date today versus how they did when she was a teenager. “Everything happens on social media,” Kaeck said. “Talking happens through DMs, you’re ‘official’ when you finally post your significant other to your story, and everything has to be ‘post worthy’ like hoco/prom-posals. I love them, but they weren’t a thing when I was in high school.”
Not everyone at Bellbrook High School used social media to meet their significant other. Jeff Sampson, a BHS math teacher, met his wife in seventh grade, and started dating her in college. “Social media is interesting,” Sampson said. “In a lot of ways it has taken the individual connection out of the human experience. You have to be able to connect with a real life person in front of you.”
Bayer, Kaeck, and Sampson all have varying experiences with dating. Dating has certainly changed over the years, and this is largely due to the influence of the internet. From teenage dating to marriage, BHS is full of love stories with all sorts of beginnings. Although dating has changed through generations, anything from a DM to a classic phone call can start a connection.
