Man refuses to pay for dinner after his date tells him she is not interested in seeing him again, she confronts him about it: 'Your whole attitude is transactional'

It is often alarming to know just how many rules and unspoken codes there are to dating in modern years. Certain ways you should text, specific words you should use or avoid, timelines in order to secure a day, so many things people have to follow and accept as they are meeting someone new.

Every time I hear about an unspoken code someone broke unknowingly, it makes me think of How I Met Your Mother, a sitcom that is all about dating as a person in their late 20s, and I am reminded of how difficult it seemed to be even back in 2007.

When Ted (the main character in the show), meets someone who he likes, he goes on elaborate scenes in order to get her to agree to go out with him. And as romantic as it may sound, it also sounds incredibly exhausting. How can one follow so many rules?

The rule of who pays for the date is also a big rule that tends to be quite tiring. The man is expected to pay, even if he doesn't see a future there, and even if the other person says the same thing. If the woman deeply cares about equality and is insistent on paying, you should let her–but only after insisting a specific amount of time to ensure she wasn't just saying that because she felt awkward.