Doing This One Thing Has Completely Changed My Date Night

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the Saturday night date nights my boyfriend and I have. It’s something we started doing back in 2018 and have been loving ever since. We initially started off by doing date nights at home, and then that turned into going out every once in a while before switching it back up and doing it at home once again—that was, until COVID hit last year. Although things have begun to open back up again, the idea of going out just isn’t appealing to either one of us, so it’s been homemade date nights, through and through.

One thing we’ve always done is stay off of our phones while out with each other, especially during our date nights. People would actually come up to us in public (before social distancing was a thing) and ask if we were on our first date because of how intently we talked with one another. It was simple: no phones, no distractions. We always made sure that those times were all about us.

We’ve still followed that rule during our homemade date nights, but admittedly, date nights at home automatically correlate with more relaxation and comfort, which means that phones are more of a normal thing. They’re not tucked away in pockets or purses, they’re out on the end of the couch, displayed in plain sight. Naturally, this would lead to more moments documented for social media, and more interruptions from friends and family. Last fall I decided to make drink recipe videos for my IGTV every Saturday night before date night began. That turned into more sharing on my end, which also turned into my boyfriend sharing it on his own page after his pop-up cameos in my videos, and so on and so forth. At first it was a really good idea and totally fun, but after awhile, it began to correlate with work and stress for the both of us. Sometimes it even inadvertently caused date night to start off on a more sour note.

About a month ago my boyfriend deleted the Instagram app from his phone, claiming that he needed a mental break from social media; it’d become a very toxic outlet for him. We both instantly noticed the difference in him day-to-day—he was calmer, lighter on his feet, felt more free, and was in a better mood more often. After seeing the difference it made for him, a couple weeks ago I decided I wasn’t going to do a drink video that Saturday night. I didn’t really have any cocktail ingredients or ideas anyway, so it worked out. That night, the difference in the atmosphere in our home was noticeable—in a good way—but I still took to my Instagram story to tell everyone there wouldn’t be a new drink video that night but to stay tuned for more recipes in the future. Afterwards, I put my phone down for the rest of the night. My boyfriend’s time off of social media was completely gone, and mine was cut in half.

Last Saturday I decided to stay off all social media outlets completely, and my boyfriend did the same, and it was one of the most calm, fun date nights we’ve had in awhile. There was no stress or tension in the air because I wanted to make sure the lighting was just right for my video, my boyfriend wasn’t worried about getting antsy and unsettled while he waited to help with and for said video to be made, and most importantly, there were no distractions. It may sound silly to some, but it felt like a weight had been lifted. The vibe in our house was so chill, and it felt like we were in our own world once again.

I think stepping away from social media is good for everyone, but even more so when it comes to one-on-one time with your S.O. My boyfriend and I have both decided that we’re going to take Saturdays off of social media altogether to give ourselves mental breaks, and allow more room for each other. We’ve always made our relationship a priority and have always made time for one another, but I didn’t realize how much social media took away from that. Now, we leave both of our phones on vibrate in case someone ever has to contact us in an emergency, and put them out of sight. No more sharing our intimate moments with the rest of the world, or including everyone else on what’s supposed to be a night for just the two of us. Getting off of social media and phones completely has been a major game changer for my date nights.