It can be hard to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of dating. From new apps and technology to social meetups, there’s a lot to learn if you’re looking for love.

To make sure you’re not looking in all the wrong places, GBH Morning Edition host Mark Herz spoke with Boston Globe relationship advice columnist Meredith Goldstein for her perspective on the dating scene in Boston and beyond. She answers questions on dating and is also the host of the Love Letters podcast.

AI and dating

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Meredith Goldstein: I think that people are wrestling with the questions of AI. Is it helpful? Is it hurtful? But they are using it. They’re using it to help them build their profiles. They’re using unknowingly when they’re fed different people, you know, because of the algorithm. But I think what’s interesting is that the Kinsey Institute worked with Match to look at how people were using it [AI] , and a lot of young people use it for practice, specifically in the gay community, in areas where people felt more isolated. Young people, all people, were saying, “hey, what would it be like to have a nice opening line on a date?” Note: This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.

Financial security is a priority

Goldstein: We went from a time where people got married for financial and contractual reasons to truly thinking and embracing what, in my romance novels that I read, they would call a love match. This is supposed to be about chemistry and falling madly in love, almost as if the contract isn’t happening. And I look at younger people especially, and they’re saying, “I’m never gonna be able to buy a house. I’m not gonna be ever able to pay for anything.” There’s an incredible wealth gap and there are practical reasons. It doesn’t mean it’s unromantic, it just means that there are different reasons to get married.

Boston is distinct when it comes to dating

In the last few years there’s been a real drive to get people together [in person]. I was just at an event where people [had] name tags. A lot of people in Boston are here for universities or they’re here for jobs, whatever they’re here for, they are taking the initiative to say: let me convene people. I was interviewing a woman who was having trouble dating, so she started date night for many singles and now it’s completely sold out. So I think that we are motivated. Not only that, we know we have a window because it’s going to get cold. So when I go to LA and these other places, it’s almost like there’s no sense of urgency. We’ll get there when we get there. And here the fall feels electric of “let’s get this done. Let’s make our friends. Let’s find our partners because in February we will not want to.”