Recently, a guy told me that he wasn't into dating because he felt that it came with too much pressure. To him, when it came to getting to know a woman a little better, he preferred to go to her house (or have her come to his) and watch a movie or something.

Geez. If you could only see my face right now. Before "Netflix and Chill" was a phrase on a graphic T-shirt, I never thought "dating at home" was a good idea. What I mean by that is the first five dates or so, that needs to be about two people not only getting to know one another but showing the effort that they are willing to invest in doing so. When all a guy does is come over, eat up your food and use up your electricity while watching something on your television…not only does that come off as rather lazy on his part, on your end, it also doesn't really convey what your expectations are—when it comes to exploring the possibility of a relationship.

So yeah, if there is a mutual attraction between you and someone new, please require that you both go outside of one another's residences for the first few dates. And then also, in the effort to set a few more standards, make sure that open communication is a top priority. Oh, and if you happen to hear the following things come out of your date's mouth, I strongly suggest that you reconsider going on another outing with him and that you definitely don't give him the honor of dinner and a movie at your crib any time soon.

“Hold on. I really need to take this call.”

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Have you ever heard of the phrase "phubbing" before? A few years ago, The Atlantic did a feature on it. It was talking about how it has now become the norm for us to snub people for our phones. Ugh.

There's a guy I used to date who modeled the importance of turning my phone off whenever I'm physically with another individual. By him doing that, not only did it send the message that he didn't want to focus on anyone or thing more than me (nice), but that he also had manners.

Unless the guy you're seeing is a father, (something like) a doctor or he gets a text that says it's an emergency, there is no reason why he needs to take a call during dinner. Or a movie. Or when he's with you, period.

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