This story from the Washington Post is a few tweaks and a prominent reference to Axe body spray away from being full-on Onion story. Purportedly a look at dating during the economic downturn, and trying to be one of those zeitgeist-y pieces that today's news organizations hope will catch fire with the pop culture commentariat, this piece is in fact a shining example of what we at S)T call "a reporter trend."
The story is chock-a-block full of quotes from young men bemoaning how they can no longer can spend "$600 to $700 a month" on dating and young women saying, "I guess I'm kind of traditional. So if a guy can't really take you out or doesn't have the money or the state of mind to take girls out, then it's not going to go anywhere."
So it is understandable to think that this is a snapshot of romance derailed by the crashing of the gravy train, until you get to the relevatory sentence: "Formal studies on the matter are hard to find, and Washington area employment rates are still higher than those of many other metropolitan areas."(emphasis added).
Aha! This is not a trend study of changing twentysomething dating patterns at all, but rather appears to be based on the reporter talking to a group of people who happen to be at the same bar on the same night.
As stated, this type of article is bait for pop culture navel-gazing, but for those who follow consumer trends more seriously, it is a lesson in reading sources carefully. Is the economic downturn contracting date-related spending? Who knows? Possibly. But it would be irresponsible for anyone to make that claim based on this article alone, which contains no facts or data beyond the anecdotal $600-$700 a month cited above. One of the first lessons we teach new futurists is "Just because a 'trend' is in the newspaper doesn't mean it is actually occurring." It's a lesson that would serve any critical reader well.
Also, $600 a month on dating? No wonder it took me so long to get married.
Image: CarbonNYC (Flickr)
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