What is dating in the 21st Century? I'm serious. I don't know what the average millennial considers "dating." Is it just going on dates with no exclusive commitment, or is it going steady with somebody? I feel like we use "dating" for everything from going on a date or two with somebody to being in a serious relationship. Why don't we say "going steady" anymore? Bringing back the use of this term would clear up the confusion for everybody.

When my mom was young, dating was the point right before going steady where Joe had to cut things off with Susie before being exclusive with Lisa. Today, we have defined dating as whatever people want it to be. To me, dating implies that two people are only going on dates with each other with no exclusive commitment; to others, it may mean going steady.

Dating has drastically changed over the past century. From the classic period talking in person with your crush at school to the new age of resorting to dating apps that do not work, such as Tinder and Bumble, technology has changed and so has our way of dating.

Back in the "good ol' days" when our grandparents and great-grandparents were young and going steady with somebody, there were essential traits in relationships, such respect, honor, and trust. It is critical to have these and other characteristics in any relationship because, without it, the relationship will just not last. A lack of trust is logically one of the many reasons for our high divorce rates.

Nowadays, nobody can trust his or her significant other to "party with the boys/girls" without the fear of the person getting so drunk that he or she hooks up with somebody else. We apparently cannot trust our significant others because "phone checks" are a regular practice in many young adult relationships and even adult relationships.

If nobody did phone checks and were not so paranoid about the significant other cheating, then I believe relationships would last longer. Personally, I think we should not check the other's phone until proven by trusted friends or by one's own reasonable suspicions (i.e., the other never being around and card transactions in places outside of their country or a friend telling the one that he or she saw the other spending money on beautiful things for somebody else). By the time the information reaches the one about what the other is or could be doing, the relationship is most likely messed up due to the lack of a trust foundation or moving on from the relationship without the relationship ending, so there is no point in continuing the dating relationship. In a marital relationship, try going to marital counseling first, and go from there.

What happened to respect and trust in relationships? There is no reason we should be like this other than the interference of technology, which should not even be an issue in the first place.

Here are five small things I think we should be doing:

1. Writing sweet, little love notes like our parents, grandparents, and other family members before us wrote

2. Keeping the phone usage to a minimum while hanging out with friends or significant others

3. Making an effort to fulfill our promises to other people consistently

4. Working on having good relationships with our parents and other family members because they have helped us in the past and will continue to support us through rough times as long as we are open with them about what is honestly happening in our lives

5. Attempting to be honest with ourselves