Can your feelings handle a bit of fun?
Photo by CC user Iulia Pironea on Flickr

We’ve all heard of the joys of online dating, and many of us have lived through it to tell the tales; but not everyone has had the chance of trying it out. After all we have heard many stories of people getting let down or scammed, which can be very off-putting; but the truth is that dating has always had some risks associated to it, online or offline. However the risks we are about to talk about are more to do with your emotions, and whether you can handle a bit of casual dating without falling in love. Can your feelings handle a bit of fun? We think they can.

Casual dating without feelings?

You might have checked online and seen the amounts of different dating websites out there, and if you have you know that there are plenty of ones that just offer people the chance to hook-up casually; rather than seriously. After all a lot of people don’t want to commit to anything long term and that is why they think NSA sex is great. For those who don’t know, NSA stands for ‘No Strings Attached’; basically meaning that you meet with a person, have a bit of fun and then go about your business like nothing happened. Some people are fine with that idea, but others find it a hard pill to swallow.

Is naughty sex dehumanizing?

Having fun without showing any emotions can be seen as being a bit cold, after all we are expected to feel something, right? Well the truth is that even if you don’t fall in love after having bedded someone doesn’t mean that you aren’t feeling at all. Remember that love isn’t the only thing we can feel, there is lust, desire and infatuation too. So to have sex and not worry about that person the next day does not make one a cold heartless person, it just makes them human. After all, just because two people decide to share a good time in bed doesn’t mean that they owe anything to each other after the matter; and it is normal to just move on with our lives.

Falling in love with a casual date

This is where the risk lie: you could well develop feelings for the person even if the two of you are having a fling. If this happens, it is best to be honest and tell the other person; that way you can both make sure that you have the same agenda. If they only want fun but you want more, then the relationship will become unbalanced and someone’s feelings are bound to get hurt. Now we’re not saying that falling in love is a bad thing, but we are saying that two people with different agendas don’t make a great couple, so why be with someone if they don’t know your feelings? It feels like you are lying to them if you don’t tell them what you feel, and they will find out soon enough anyway. This is where lust is the same as love: in both cases, just be honest about how you feel, try to communicate the important things and if you do that, then you probably won’t get hurt; and neither will your partner.