From “talking” to dating and everything in between.
Blurred lines, shades of gray, Snapchat and undefined boundaries: welcome to the world of “talking”. Gone are the days where boy meets girl and boy waits a perfectly timed three days to call and ask her out on a date.
This is the 21st century, people. With ease, everyone is able to communicate through their phones from anywhere at any time. The simplicity of interacting online is mind-boggling, to say the least.
Some may consider it a dilemma, while others find it miraculous that the days of “conventional” dating are seemingly behind us. I say, “Goodbye!” to the many boring dates and bland conversation starters. Goodbye to all the mundane dinners experienced throughout one’s process of meeting their “Mr. Right”. We should consider ourselves fortunate to avoid such a travesty. Nowadays, you only go on a date with someone if you have at least somewhat of an idea of what they are like, who they hangout with and if the two of you have any chemistry at all.
Yes, it’s possible for people to meet in public and suddenly arrange a date. But, this encounter would presumably be followed by social media searches to make sure the suitor is not a total sociopath, or something else along those lines. A glance at their Facebook likes is a glance into their hearts. Oh, you are both avid Game of Thrones viewers? Perfect. Now, you no longer have to ease into a conversation of streaming shows, HBO, Netflix, etc. to maybe find out if you have any similarities. You can just say, “I LOVE Game of Thrones!” and the conversation will spark from there.
Maybe the two of you already know each other . . . or know of each other, at least. If so, it can only be assumed that you have each other on social media. Not sure if you like to do the same things? No need to wonder how they spend their free time. Check their snapchat story. If one person is always partying, while the other prefers to Netflix and chill, you automatically know that there is a major clash. A date can’t go horribly, if a date doesn’t occur.
So, let’s say the two of you know each other well. Chances are, you Snapchat each other. The intense speed and automatic “Opened” notifications of this app actually make most conversations go smoother. No longer is one able to lament a message and send back a perfectly articulated, “chill”, yet flirty text. You are forced to quickly respond, making your message more realistic and less phony.
Okay, what about the people who are constantly flirting through emojis and bitmojis alike? The ones who can message on Snapchat all day long, are interested in the other person, yet barely talk or hangout in person? It’s interesting actually. Yes, hearing that people are communicating non-stop through Snapchat messages and Instagram comments, yet ignoring each other in person can make a person question the present day dating practices. However, all of the pictures, tweets and messages actually allow one to get the other person far more than they would just after a few dinners and casual dates.
Actual dating is so much less common today than it was years ago, simply because people already know enough about each other. They are able to determine ahead of time if a relationship would have any chance of working out. More often than not, relationships would not work out. And that’s fine.
Although many people claim to be unhappy with the “single life”. Being single gives a person so much time to truly make themselves happy. Once someone is genuinely happy with their body, their life, their career, their friends and their goals, there won’t be any time wasted on random partners. They either mesh with your life or they don’t. Know need to ponder any lost love. If their lifestyle drastically does not match up with the life you have envisioned for yourself, it’s an automatic “no”.
With all of this being said, there are people with totally different ideals, personalities, backgrounds and plans who end up perfectly happy together. Technology can negatively affect relationships because it gives people leeway to make assumptions. On social media you hardly ever know the full story. The ultimate goal is being pleased with our lives. Slowly but surely, with or without technology, we will, hopefully, all make it there.
