Oh, how times have changed! Almost everything today has escalated from average to super speed at a continuous nonstop pace. Here's a look at how the advancement of technology and media has affected our relationships with people, particularly our significant other!
Have you ever found yourself at the dinner table listening to your parents gush about their first date, and how they talked about everything under the stars at dinner and knew in that moment they were made for each other? I know, it sounds like such an arbitrary idea to consider when comparing it to technology. But compare it to what a dinner date looks like today and you'll see that most people are on their phones the whole time, face booking, tweeting, and instagraming.
Back in the day, dating was the only way to get to know someone. You couldn't just shoot them a text to find out what their favorite band was or what they like to eat for lunch. Conversation was so much more meaningful. There were no awkward silences because there was always something to say. Is it possible that due to communication being so readily available to us through technology, we no longer need long dates to get to know someone. Is there no longer a significance to 'dinner and a movie?' Do we rather consider 'Netflix and chill' more vital to our relationships?
Online dating sites like eHarmony and Match have made it so much easier for people to meet. Just add a few sentences about yourself and what you're looking for and BAM you have a match! No need for friends to hook you up with their boyfriends single best friend, and definitely no need for blind dates! And don't even get me started on apps like Tinder, where meeting new people is just a swipe away. Face to face communication is such an outdated technique today that most young people dating don't know how to utilize that skill. The act of getting to know someone through their presence and talking to them and learning about their habits and opinions has been overtaken by the simplicity and speed of a text message, and the tap of a picture.
A study done by Princeton Survey Research Associates International showed that "42% of cell-owning 18-29 year olds in serious relationships say their partner has been distracted by their mobile phone while they were together (25% of all couples say this)." Ironic how the same distraction while couples are together is the one that keeps them the closest when they are apart! Through technology we know exactly where our significant other is, what they're doing, and finding out what their thinking is only a phone call away.
So is technology diminishing good relationships, or is it helping build them? I'm still not sure myself which side I'm on, though I clearly see the pros and cons to each side. What are your experiences with technology and dating? Do you think people need to work at relationships through face to face and personal communication or do you believe the stronger the wifi, the strong the bond of love?
