Gone are the days of traditional courtships, with nervous walks under romantic moonlight, quiet conversations in the corners of cozy cafes, long drives out to lovers point, and daring kisses under porch lights that always seems a little too bright.
We’ve gone from “dinner and a movie” to “Netflix & Chill.”
Modern society prides itself on dating conveniences that can be as simple as non-grammatical chats between distant computer screens, miles apart: “How r u?” “Sup” “Dinner 2nite?” We’ve shifted from the strict standards of etiquette set by Emily Post and the (in)famous Miss Manners, to love’s acceptance and rejection fated with the swipe of a thumb on a phone screen. But what does it all mean?
“I had this guy leave me a voice mail at work so I called him at home and then he e-mailed me to my Blackberry and so I texted to his cell and then he e-mailed me to my home account and the whole thing just got out of control. And I miss the days when you had one phone number and one answering machine and that one answering machine has one cassette tape and that one cassette tape either had a message from a guy or it didn’t. And now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies. It’s exhausting.” – He’s Just Not That Into You (2009)
One place to look is ONLINE DATING. There are many sites to find a potential partner, connecting people based on common traits and interests. Here’s how it works:
1. You make a profile (like Facebook). You upload a picture and describe yourself: physical features, interests, hobbies, etc. Also in that description, you include the kinds of people you are interested in dating.
2. You start searching for matches (like looking for new friends on Facebook). Based on your description, the dating service will give you a catalogue of people they think you will be compatible with.
3. Once you see some people that you’d like to talk to, you reach out to them and the “dating” begins.
Online dating can feel “easier” than traditional models- it’s a lot less physically taxing to create a profile than it is to go out to an event with a hope and a prayer of meeting someone who you connect with. But, is the convenience and ease of online dating degrade the worth of those relationships? What do you think?
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