The Age Of The ‘Venbro': Guys Are Now Ruining Dating With Venmo

We are in the midst of a new dating epidemic.

According to New York Post, men pay for their date's dinner without a word (chivalry ISN'T dead, amirite?), then slyly send women Venmo payment requests for half the bill later.

Ladies, if this has ever happened to you, you've met a Venbro.

Look, I'm 100 percent on board with splitting the check. It's definitely sweet when a guy offers to pay and plays that classic masculine role, and every girl likes to be treated to a nice dinner. But I firmly believe every modern woman should be cool with offering to pay sometimes.

What I'm 100 percent NOT on board with, however, is a guy imposing that on me by way of a creepy iPhone notification that reads "Greg F. requested $30 - romance."

Venbros are the kind of guys who claim to be feminists, then say they'd only vote for Hillary Clinton if she was prettier. They probably think they're doing their part for equality by charging you for dinner, because you'll be splitting the bill and THAT'S FEMINISM, RIGHT?

Uh, no. Absolutely not. That's just rude.

The bill pay situation can be pretty awkward, but under no circumstances should the solution involve a shady request for money after the date is over. Venbros, to figure out who will or won't pay the bill, I would suggest something more human, like communicating, as a way to solve the problem. Makes the most sense to me.

It's largely understood in our culture that a man will pay for dinner, but I also know plenty of women who offer to split the bill. And not just in a bullsh*t, pretend-to-take-out-my-wallet kind of way. In a real way.

My boyfriend paid for our first few dates (despite the fact that I offered to split). Now that we're in an established relationship, we have an agreement for bill-paying. If the bill is under $75, he pays for all of it. But if it's over that, we split it. Our system has been working pretty well so far.

Perhaps -- with just a little communication! -- Venbros can establish a system like this in their relationships, too.