Your dad is correct. When I dated my wife and we went out to dinner on a Saturday night the men were dressed in a sport coat and tie and the women had dresses. A Saturday night date was an evening out , an event and it was special. Now Saturday night is throw on some jeans, go to Red Lobster and hang out. This mentality has permeated to every level of our culture. It's called being dumbed down. This is a big but not the only reason why the US no longer excels in much of anything.