"So, are you guys like talking or a 'thing' or what?"

There are things that I am so tired of hearing when it comes to dating nowadays because it honestly just makes our generation look stupid. Have you ever tried explaining the difference between "talking," being a "thing" and "dating" to your parents? It's embarrassing.

The problems today is that people are afraid of being the one who cares more than the other person in a relationship/"thing." If two people like each other, they can't let each other know. Why? Because we are cowards and we suck. We have all been hurt in the past and put up a wall of savagery for all potential new boyfriends/girlfriends. Every step in this generation's dating is extremely delicate; one wrong move or typo in a text could ruin everything. Makes sense, right?

The very first step is "sliding into the DMs". Since we are all too scared to simply ask for each other's number, we hit up our crushes over social media direct message systems (usually with a quirky pick up line). This technique is so popular that songs are literally dedicated to it. And Tinder. But that's another story all together. If the recipient decides to respond and the conversation actually goes somewhere, they might be lucky enough to get a snapchat username.

The next key step in this process is the mind games. This is mostly flirtatious texting back and forth (or snapchatting) for weeks or even months where you don't want to respond too quickly in fear of looking desperate. If it takes an hour for one person to respond, the next person has to wait at least another hour before replying, even if they aren't busy and able to reply right away.

So what happens if one person "catches the feels" (since when are we too cool to say "feelings")? If you tell someone that you like them, usually over text or snap, be ready for a "let's hangout" response, or no response at all. And be ready to get hurt because you must be punished for sticking yourself out on a limb to show affection, right? Awesome.

Ah, the Netflix and Chill response. The newest trend since everyone is too scared and lazy to go on a real date in this hookup culture downward spiral that our generation has spun into. "Let's just watch movies" or "let's just hang out at my house" is totally not what it used to be. If you do Netflix and Chill, you'll be seen as a person only looking for a hookup, but if you don't, you have to give up the potential relationship completely. This stage can last as little as one night, and as long as forever. Many never get out of this vicious catch-22.

At any point in time, you can be "ghosted." You know, where people just pretend for fall off the phase of the Earth and stop responding to all texts/snaps/etc. This is the great opportunity to stop treating people like human beings as you 100 percent ditch their efforts and feelings. The ultimate savagery to another person.

So what happens after you get ghosted? You have to make all the tweets and snapchats like you have the better life because your almost relationship failed and you're stuck somehow feeling "more single" than you did before this whole mess started.

Sometimes an actual relationship comes out of this, but it's much more of a rare occurrence than it used to be. In fact, more times than not, if you ask for a real date instead of "watching movies," you'll get laughed at. But if by some miracle you do get a dinner date, you subconsciously "owe" the other person; often in a physical sense.

People want to know why relationships are dying but don't want to look at the chance of the dating process as a suspect.

But the main problem is that no one wants to admit that they like each other. It has to stay some sort of secret as long as possible until someone gives in. And then what? We drive each other crazy because we are terrified of commitment. Since we all seem to have commitment issues nowadays, it just seems fair that we all have to be assholes to each other. Go team.