Latest news with #KatheryneSlack
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
New dating trend! ‘Foodie calls' turn dating apps into menus not matches; changing relationship goals
Dating in the digital age is evolving fast, and not always in the way you'd expect. Forget candlelit connections and heartfelt chats with today's new dating ritual, swiping right with one thing in mind: food. With inflation tightening wallets and brunch prices soaring, a cheeky new trend called the 'foodie call' is taking over dating apps . Instead of searching for love, many are hunting for their next free meal. Popular on TikTok and beyond, users openly admit to going on dates just to enjoy a good restaurant and no matching or compatibility required. It's dating with a side of strategy, and the internet can't stop talking about a new dating trend or a new foodie strategy? Chemistry is replaced, cutlery kept and your wallet is paying the price. Dating apps turn into free food platforms with 'foodie calls' on the rise These apps that were once meant to bring about romantic relationships are being comparably joked about as DoorDash by those who use them to fill their bellies, rather than their hearts. A " foodie call " is when a person will accept a date for the purpose of getting a free meal, but with no plans to take things further in terms of a relationship, or even a second date. According to the New York Post reports, South Carolina graphic designer Katheryne Slack admitted in an interview on MarketWatch that she asked a Hinge match out for coffee not due to interest, but because she was out at home. They hadn't talked in days, but when she could make it work, she met him at a coffee shop. "As soon as I met him, I knew I wasn't into him. But I was already there and needed my coffee," she said. Social media reacts to new dating trend 'foodie call' Social media has escalated the trend. Hilarious videos under hashtags such as #datingfordinner or #foodiecall feature young women ostentatiously documenting their dating lives, highlighting the number of free dinners they have received in a week. In one of the viral videos, @jocelynaleenaa posted, "When you keep going on dates for the free food & drinks," while others cracked jokes about not having to do grocery shopping at all by making back-to-back dates a meal prep. In another video, a lady was dancing to the caption: "Off on my second date this week 'cause I can't be bothered to meal prep." To others, it's a "budget hack" in times of economic uncertainty, even when it's a bit of a gray area morally. Is it being smart or just selfish? What the research suggests Although "foodie calls" may look like and feel like cheeky behavior, researchers contend there could be darker psychological tendencies involved. The journal Society for Personality and Social Psychology published a study in 2019 that reported that as many as 1 in 3 women acknowledged going out on dates for free food alone. More significantly, persons who habitually make such calls ranked higher in the "dark triad" traits of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. These are persons who usually take advantage of social situations and have no guilt for being deceitful. When dating becomes a strategy for surviving city life With rents that are through the roof and an endless roster of hip restaurants, urban areas such as New York have become breeding ground for "dinner dating." East Village resident Olivia Balsinger described dining on a five-course meal at the pricey Catch restaurant in the Meatpacking District that is all on her date's bill. "If I had had to pay," she confessed, "I probably wouldn't have been able to eat for weeks afterwards. Though the ritual may seem innocent or even sly in the view of some, others see it as emotional manipulation. The unaware date not only pays the bill but often ends up confused or disappointed, unaware they were never a romantic player in the first place. Also Read | 'Feels just like home!': Indian YouTuber finds 'Chandni Chowk vibes' in New Jersey's India Square; video goes viral AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
From booty call to ‘foodie call' — free dinner scammers flood dating apps as wallets tighten
Love might be off the menu — but the lobster sure isn't. With wallets tightening and a looming recession on the rise, some singles are turning first dates into free dinner scams. Countless TikTokkers are proudly documenting their foodie finesse, using Hinge and Bumble like Doordash — to score meals on someone else's dime. This is referred to as a 'foodie call' — where someone nabs a free meal with no plans to ever call, text or date the poor sap who picked up the check. South Carolina graphic designer Katheryne Slack told MarketWatch in a recent interview that she realized she was out of coffee one Sunday and used a thirsty Hinge match to score a caffeine fix. Outta beans and full of schemes, Slack hit up her suitor for a free cup o' joe. The pair had exchanged flirty messages days earlier, but plans fizzled — until she pounced when the timing finally lined up. An hour later, they were sipping lattes at his expense at a café. 'As soon as I met him, I knew I wasn't into him. But I was already there and needed my coffee,' she told the outlet. And she's far from the only one who sees things this way, TikTok is filled with cheeky clips of users bragging about 'dating for dinner' — a budgeting 'hack.' In one recent video, user @jocelynaleenaa can be seen at a restaurant table. In white text over the clip, she wrote, 'when you keep going on dates for the free food & drinks.' Another user commented beneath the TikTok, 'I did this for 2 weeks straight once I was never hungry.' One other added, 'Girl I feel you.' Some are joking that back-to-back dates are their version of meal prepping. User @alanarixonn filmed herself dancing last month with the caption, 'off on my 2nd date this week cos I cba to meal prep x.' One viewer wrote under the video, 'the fact that this isn't a joke.' Someone else replied, 'It's like a meal voucher because you are putting in the work. You deserve it queen.' An additional supporter chimed in, 'This is low key genius' as one other noted, 'Love doing this #thinksmarternotharder.' Dating with the intention of nabbing a free bite to eat isn't new. A 2019 study published in the 'Society for Personality and Social Psychology' journal dove deeper into 'foodie calls.' The study found up to 1 in 3 women admitted to going on dates for free grub. As per the researchers, anyone who thinks it's cool to dine and dash emotionally are more likely to show signs of narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism — aka the 'dark triad.' With sky-high rents and an endless lineup of buzzy eateries, NYC could be seen as a foodie call free-for-all. East Village local Olivia Balsinger once scored a five-course feast at swanky seafood hotspot Catch in the Meatpacking District — all on someone else's dime. 'If I had been forced to pay,' she told The Post, 'I probably wouldn't have been able to eat for weeks afterward.' Overall, while 'dating for dinner' isn't entirely novel, it's hitting harder now as tariffs bite into wallets, recession jitters grow, and job security feels shakier than ever.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TikTok's latest budget hack is ‘dating for dinner' — which says a lot about love and money right now
When Katheryne Slack realized she was out of coffee one Sunday morning, the Hinge notification that lit up her phone became an opportunity. The graphic designer from South Carolina figured she could score a free cup from the guy who had messaged her on the dating app. They had been chatting casually days earlier, but attempts to make plans had fizzled out due to scheduling conflicts. With the timing aligned on this particular weekend, they planned to meet an hour later at a coffee shop in West Columbia, where they both live. 'It might be another Apple or Microsoft': My wife invested $100K in one stock and it exploded 1,500%. Do we sell? 'The situation is extreme': I'm 65 and leaving my estate to only one grandchild. Can the others contest my will? 'I prepaid our mom's rent for a year': My sister is a millionaire and never helps our mother. How do I cut her out of her will? A local restaurant has a 5% container charge and 3% kitchen-service fee. Is this as nuts as it sounds? I bought my mother-in-law a condo — and she took out a $30,000 car loan. Now she refuses to get a roommate. 'As soon as I met him, I knew I wasn't into him. But I was already there and needed my coffee,' Slack said. 'Plus, I like to be optimistic: Maybe he would do or say something sweet and charming and my mind could change.' After some pleasant enough conversation over coffee and a breakfast sandwich, however, it was clear their intentions weren't aligned. When Slack opened Hinge MTCH to message her date a thank-you note afterward, his profile was gone. 'I think he must have unmatched me from Hinge as soon as he left the shop,' she said. 'The way I see it, I only wasted an hour of my time for a coffee and a breakfast sandwich. So, oh well.' As the cost of dining out has climbed and economic uncertainty has grown, TikTok has become riddled with tongue-in-cheek videos of people talking up 'dating for dinner,' as some experts call it, as a budgeting hack to save money on food. Some joke that scheduling dates throughout the week is their way of meal prepping. 'I literally had dates for 10 days straight bc I didn't want to go grocery shopping,' wrote a commenter on one recent clip. 'That's definitely one way to save,' chimed in another. Some videos coach daters on how to defuse the tension over who will pay the bill. While the concept of 'dating for dinner' isn't new — these dates were even dubbed 'foodie calls' in one 2019 study — it's striking a chord as tariffs threaten people's budgets, recession fears have mounted and concerns about job security have grown. In some cases, people who 'date for dinner' have no romantic interest in their date; in others, there's a hope that the date could lead to both a meal and a mate. 'One major purpose of partnership has always been to have someone to share the load and rely on in times of need,' said dating coach Damona Hoffman. 'It makes sense that in the current economy and postpandemic, many people are looking to romantic connections for a sense of stability.' Even though the practice of dating for dinner has been popularized by social media, it can be harder than it looks to score free meals, especially during economic slowdowns. As consumer sentiment dips near a record low, singles are being more intentional with dating, said Devyn Simone, Tinder's resident relationship expert. When times are tough financially, people are less likely to spend money on someone with whom they don't intend to have a second date. See more: Consumer sentiment falls for 5th straight month in May as inflation worries grow 'We're calling it 'loud looking,' but people are actually being just much more intentional about their time and what they're looking for,' Simone said. 'Even if it does mean I'm intentional about going on a date for a sushi roll, either way they're still just being more clear, versus in the past when the 'situationship' was on the rise.' A large majority of singles (95%) said worries about the future are impacting who and how they date, according to Bumble's BMBL 2025 dating-trends report. Nearly 60% of women surveyed around the world said growing concerns about the future are causing them to put more emphasis on stability when dating, and they're looking for partners who are 'reliable' and 'have clear goals.' More than a quarter of U.S. women are pushing for conversations about topics like budgeting, job ambitions and housing to happen earlier in a relationship. While there's scant data available to indicate how many men feel the same way, data from Tinder show three out of four men are comfortable dating a woman who makes more money than them. The discourse around 'foodie calls' — which primarily centers on a man buying dinner for a woman who isn't planning on a second date — tends to be steeped in sexism and ignores same-sex couples, critics point out. But in reality, the trend transcends gender. Making your intentions clear up front — even if those intentions entail getting a free meal — can go a long way. From the archives (June 2024): I met a woman on Hinge who says she wants a man who believes in 'chivalry.' Is this just code for a free meal? 'I make it clear I'm a material girl on my profile, which does a lot of the heavy lifting,' one TikTok commenter said. 'I also always ask for an Uber/car to the date if they don't offer so they know what the agenda is. 100% success rate.' On the flip side, during boom times people feel more optimistic about dating. Singles place less emphasis on frugality as they have more disposable income to spend on fancy dinners, according to eharmony relationship expert Laurel House — but there are also more first dates that don't lead to a second. 'During economic upswings, the wallets come out, bottles of wine are ordered, valet is paid,' House said. 'Dates tend not to prequalify as much — throwing caution to the wind and going on a dinner date at a nice place with someone who they didn't get to know well at all — because [they think], 'May as well.'' While people going on dates for a free dinner may be all over your For You page, the concept wasn't invented by Generation Z. 'We see it among all age groups,' Hoffman, the dating coach, said. 'It's simply that Gen Z has the most financial insecurity overall.' In fact, nearly half of Gen Zers (48%) say they do not feel financially secure, according to Deloitte's 2025 Gen Z and millennial survey — up significantly from the 30% who said the same last year. 'Ugh, in this economy no one listens to me when I say it's free dinners and free experience,' one TikTok commenter wrote on a 'dating for dinner' video. 'Around 6 months ago I was so broke I couldn't afford groceries. … There were weeks I went on a different date every single evening,' another commenter said. In addition to the high cost of living and mounting student debt burdening members of Gen Z, they're also facing higher-than-average levels of unemployment. In May, 9.7% of 16- to 24-year-olds were unemployed, compared with 4.2% of the overall U.S. labor force, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Gen Zers also have high expectations for what constitutes financial security. Many expect to make $100,000 at their first job; in one survey, adult Gen Z respondents said they would need at least $585,000 on average to feel financially successful. Still, dating for dinner is a 'practice many daters have followed for decades,' Hoffman noted. People are simply being more vocal about it today, and are able to find more dates through apps than the traditional analog ways of meeting. While apps have made dating more accessible, many say the culture around dating has deteriorated as a result. 'There's more dating-app disappointment now than ever before,' Hoffman said. 'People are frustrated with the churn of people on dating apps and craving deeper connection, but at the same time we've been accustomed to a faster speed of dating that offline dating just can't deliver.' A transactional first date where one person is dating for dinner can be a bummer for the person footing the bill if they were genuinely looking for love. But it also can take a toll on the person receiving the free meals. 'There's an internal cost to being an inauthentic human being,' said Pepper Schwartz, a sociology professor at the University of Washington who specializes in family, marriage and sexuality. 'In the short run, you get a free dinner. But the long run, you change over time into a person that you might not want to know.' If you want to be proactive about setting money-related expectations before a first date, it's fine to ask your date ahead of time what they're comfortable with, said Winnie Sun, co-founder and managing director of Irvine, Calif.-based Sun Group Wealth Partners. Asking, 'Do you want to split the meal or do you think one person pays for the whole thing?' before the date can avoid any awkwardness once the bill arrives. If you can't pay for a fancy meal, but want to get across that you intend to be more than just a meal collector, offering to pay for dessert or their cab home can go a long way, too. Talking about money is a key component of a relationship, though many couples fail to do this early on. Asking about who should pay for dinner could be a way to force the conversation. While gender roles have historically played a part in who pays for dinner, 44% of people believed whoever earns more money should pay for the date, according to a survey about the cost of dating conducted on behalf of Self Financial. Nearly 36% said they prefer to split the bill equally, and 21% believed the payment should fall on whoever organized the date. For those who plan on paying for the entire date, there are ways to have a good time while remaining money-conscious. Happy hours can be 'diamonds for your budget,' Sun noted. Sun also suggested having a picnic in the park with takeout, snacks or a meal from home, to make the date less about the food and more about the experience of getting to know one another. 'It keeps things light and affordable,' she said. 'A reusable cooler bag, a simple beach towel or picnic blanket makes it feel thoughtful and intentional.' To avoid heated conversations that can set a relationship off on the wrong foot, money questions beyond 'who pays' can wait until four to eight weeks into the relationship, Hoffman said. But in the early stages, don't always assume the other person will pick up the tab. 'Dating is a rich man or woman's game,' Hoffman said, 'and going into any date with the expectation of having it paid for is a recipe for disappointment.' What personal-finance issues would you like to see covered in MarketWatch? We would like to hear from readers about their financial decisions and money-related questions. You can fill out or write to us at . A reporter may be in touch to learn more. MarketWatch will not attribute your answers to you by name without your permission. 20 stocks bucking bad trends on Wall Street — what might be next for them? 'He failed in his fiduciary duty': My brother liquidated our mother's 401(k) for her nursing home. He claimed the rest. Why Goldman Sachs says high-flying tech stocks may be headed for a tough stretch My son, 39, will be released from prison in 2030. Do I leave him my $100K life insurance? How do I make sure my son-in-law doesn't get his hands on my daughter's inheritance?
