对于我们许多人而言，约会或许是认真开始一段浪漫恋情前最微妙的阶段。约会可以是选择一家高档餐厅共进晚饭，一起看电影，或是出城玩一天。这个阶段充满着兴奋和不确定，心里有种七上八下的感觉。
In Western countries however, the rise of the “*hookup culture” among young people has changed the definition of dating completely.
然而，在西方国家，年轻人中“勾搭文化”的兴起完全改变了约会的定义。
In the hookup culture, two people simply meet up for casual relationships. Numerous dating apps enable people to find their potential partners with just a *swipe of finger. Tinder is one of the most popular of these apps.
在勾搭文化中，两人见个面纯粹是为了一段随意的关系。人们只需动动手指，便可借助大量的约会软件找到可能出现的伴侣。而Tinder则是这些软件中最受欢迎的一款。
A 2015 study published by Vanity Fair reported that out of the nearly 100 million people using mobile dating apps in the US, 50 million are on Tinder. Instead of a detailed profile, all the app requires is a photo. If someone likes your photo and you also like theirs, the two of you can go on “a date”. But don’t expect anything elaborate and fancy. In most cases, a date is just a drink around the corner for two strangers to check out one another, and then they may soon get intimate.
《名利场》杂志2015年发布的一项调查报告显示，在美国，有近亿人使用手机约会软件，其中5000万人在用Tinder。所有此类软件需要的只是一张照片，而非一份详细的个人简介。如果有人喜欢你的照片，而你也喜欢对方，你们两人便可以进行“约会”。但不要期望太多。多数情况，约会只是两个陌生人在角落里喝上一杯，各自结账，之后他们或许很快会亲密起来。
Hookup culture is all
勾搭文化就是关于及时行乐。这也是《名利场》近期的一篇文章指出约会软件引领了“约会启示录到来”的原因。
Balance of power
力量制衡
*Flicking through profiles or photos and choosing one’s “matches” on dating apps is not unlike online shopping, Vanity Fair says. It may be a useful tool for those who want to delay marriage and family for the sake of a career promotion.
在约会软件上快速浏览个人简介或照片，并选出自己的“速配”对象，这和网购没有什么不同，《名利场》表示。对于那些为了职业发展而推迟结婚和组建家庭的人来说，它还是一个有用的工具。
For some, choosing to have casual relationships can even give them a sense of *liberation and *empowerment. “I’m in a relationship now, but I find my life is more exciting when I’m single. You get ready to go out, and the night is full of possibilities,” one commenter wrote on Teen Vogue.
对于一些人来说，选择发展一些随意的关系甚至能给他们一种自由感和激励。“我现在有对象，但我发现单身时，我的生活更加刺激。我随时准备好出门玩，而夜晚也充满着各种可能性，”一位评论者在青少年时尚杂志《Teen Vogue》上写道。
But many people argue that the hookup culture is not really good for women. As Emily Esfahani Smith points out in an Atlantic article: “the balance of power in hookup culture lies with men” and women don’t actually have a choice.
但许多人认为勾搭文化并不利于女性。艾米莉•伊斯法哈尼•史密斯在《大西洋月刊》上的一篇文章中指出：“勾搭文化的力量制衡取决于男性”，女性实际上并无选择。
David Buss, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas in the US, echoes this viewpoint in an interview with Vanity Fair. Dating apps like Tinder “give people the impression that there are thousands or millions of potential mates out there,” says Buss.
美国德克萨斯大学的心理学教授大卫•巴斯在接受《名利场》采访时，对这一观点表示赞同。诸如Tinder等约会软件“给人们留下一个印象——还有成千上万甚至数百万的潜在伴侣在等着他们呢，”巴斯说道。
“When there is a surplus of women, or a perceived surplus of women, the whole mating system tends to shift towards short-term dating. Men don’t have to commit, so they pursue a short-term mating strategy. Men are making that shift, and women are forced to go along with it in order to mate at all,” he added.
“当女性数量出现过剩的情况，或者人们认为女性过剩时，整个婚配制度便会倾向于短期约会。男人们不必负责，所以他们追求一种短期配对的策略。男性做出如此的转变，而女性为了交往也不得不接受这一变化，”他补充道。
In the old days, men had to *woo women with flowers, poetry, and a lot of attention. But today, with so many choices *purveyed by dating apps, many women feel they are being *devalued. As Erica Gordon wrote on youth website Elite Daily: “It’s rare for a woman of our generation to meet a man who treats her like a priority instead of an option.”
在过去，男性要以鲜花、诗歌和许多关爱来追求女性。但在约会软件提供无数选择的今天，许多女性感觉她们被贬低了。正如艾丽卡•戈登在青年网站精英日报上写的那样：“对于我们这一代的女性来说，遇见一个把她放在首位而非看做一种选择的男人，太少见了。”
