Having grown up in and around the development of advancing technology, it has been easy to see the degradation of face-to-face communication. We want instant gratification and have found it through the evolution of the Internet. At all costs, we want to avoid confrontation, cowering at the idea unless we can hide behind cell phone screens or anonymity. We can hardly handle tangible interaction.

This dilemma/misfortune has bled into our relationships. We get into an argument with a friend over something petty and immediately turn to someone else, lashing out about every possible thing they could have done wrong. We throw blame around like confetti. Then, we decide that the best way to resolve the matter is to send the person a texted novel chock-full with everything we would never say out loud. No wonder we all have such transparent friendships.

In our romantic lives, we pursue people like it’s some kind of Latin dance. We play mind games, acting hard to get and impossible to understand. We drop hints, but we never dare come right out and say what we feel. So what’s the point?

I want a friendship that can stand through trial and triumph, a friend that will sit down with me and talk about a problem and decide how to fix it. I don’t want to wonder if I’ve done something wrong when suddenly they won’t return my phone calls. I want to be called and asked to get coffee to talk about real life. I want to trust that I can walk through life with them.

I don’t want a boyfriend who is going to nudge and flirt and compliment. I want a man that will come right out about things, not get embarrassed by his own feelings. I want someone that will take me on a real date, not some Netflix and chill fling. I don’t want our conversations to be dominated by texting, I want to be sought after and truly communicated with.

Because that’s what life should be. It should be filled with laughter and relationships. Instead of being stuck behind our phones, pretending to be someone we’re not, why don’t we get out into the world and have real conversations? Why don’t we truly interact with one another? Why don’t we change how we communicate?