Unspoken dating “rules” play a bit part in the negativity and frustration that can arise from dating. Dating doesn’t have to come with any hard or fast rules; you should be able to date someone without pressure or ridiculous standards. People tend to get very stressed out because of supposed dating rules, but dating is supposed to be fun. Here are 10 different dating rules that you definitely don’t need to abide by:

1. “You need to be in constant communication.” No, you really don’t. Sometimes it’s almost a bad thing to be texting each other constantly, because you run out of things to say, or things just get dull really fast. It’s perfectly fine if you aren’t talking to each other every second. It’s usually better if you keep the texting to a minimum, because it can make the relationship more exciting when you’ve got more to say face-to-face.

2. “You’re not allowed to be friends with the opposite sex.” This “rule” is one of the worst ones out there. A relationship requires a lot of trust, and if you can’t trust your significant other to have a friend of the opposite sex, then your relationship is already broken. There’s such a stigma against these friendships, but in reality, there’s nothing wrong with them.

3. “There’s a time limit on when you should become official.” It’s important to move your relationship to the next level only when you are both ready to. There’s no set amount of days, weeks, or months for officially becoming a couple. You will get there on your own time, no matter what anyone else says. Don’t let your friends convince you that it’s “weird” that you haven’t had the talk yet.

4. “You always need to have planned out dates.” You don’t always need to plan out what you’re doing for date night. Sure, it’s nice to occasionally have a special dinner date, but sometimes spontaneity is better when it comes to dating. It’s also okay to have a casual night in once in awhile, or to just hang out and talk. Planned dates shouldn’t be the glue holding your relationship together, although they are nice to look forward to from time to time.

5. “You can’t date more than one person at the same time.” You’re allowed to date more than one person, as long as you aren’t committed to someone. Sometimes it’s almost better to date around, because you get a better feel for what you’re looking for in a relationship. Going out on different dates with different people can expand your horizons, plus when you’re young, there’s no need to commit to the first person you meet.

6. “You have to keep tabs on where your significant other is at all times.” This is another time when trust comes into play. You don’t necessarily need to know what your significant other is doing at every second of every day. If you trust your significant other, then you will know them well enough to know they’re not doing anything wrong. It can be tiresome to always have to answer to someone, and it can ultimately lead to the death of your relationship if you attempt to keep tabs.

7. “Your relationship has to be shown on Facebook, otherwise it’s not official.” Social media is such a big part of today’s world, but it’s not healthy. You don’t need to be “Facebook official” in order to be official in real life. You don’t necessarily need to post selfies everyday with your significant other in order to show that you’re together. If you’re together in real life, then that’s all that truly matters.

8. “There’s a time limit for saying ‘I love you’.” Just how there’s no time limit on becoming official, there’s no time limit for confessing your love. Everyone feels love at a different pace, so it’s impossible to pinpoint the exact time when you “should” be in love. Just go with your heart and your feelings, and everything will come along naturally.

9. “You have to hang out with each other’s friends.” It’s good to meet and get along with the friends, but you shouldn’t be required to hang out with them. Having separate groups of friends is sometimes a good thing, so that way you won’t be hanging out with each other constantly. Every relationship benefits from space from time to time.

10. “You have to have mutual interests.” In a way, it’s better to be into different things, because you can teach other all about new things and expand each other’s horizons a bit. If you have completely different hobbies, it can make for a stronger relationship, because it’s good to have separate things to do and it’s great to learn new skills from each other.

Image credit: Lumina