Last spring, I took an Intro to Drama class and read an interesting play regarding the relatively newfound concept of "sex is the new handshake." As we all discussed it together as a class, we came to realize that these characters, despite being fictional, were not difficult to act out because in reality we live in a generation that follows these social norms.

All of a sudden, it's all about swiping right, texting, and liking Instagram posts. Should I add them on Facebook? Oh, he watched my SnapChat story! We live in a social media world where our lives are based upon online platforms. People are joining dating apps in the hopes that they have found the algorithm for love. Have any of us been on a "real" date where we go out to dinner or a movie, and actually take the time to get to know one another? In college, I've come to realize that it's a whole new dimension of "blurred lines" and "hanging out," where the terms of dating have drastically changed because we've simply forgotten how to communicate in that sense. It's 2015, and the concept of traditional dating is gone.

Is "hanging out" the new way to date? People tend to be so terrified of labels and the expectations it provokes. Commitment is rarely seen in the lifestyle of college because people don't want to be tied down out of fear of missing out, but what they don't know is that maybe being tied down can actually qualify as a missed opportunity. Putting yourself out there is hard; we all know that. We are told we can’t show vulnerability, so we never expose our true feelings. We get out before we get hurt. Why are people so reluctant to just say, “Hey, I like you”? Instead we make dating exhausting; we decide to play all these ridiculous little games and refuse to swallow our pride.

We all yearn for a courtship like our parents', but we all know it's a long shot, at least for now. My parents met at work and I'd like to think that it was love at first sight, despite my dad denying it every time. Think about how your parents met and how drastically different our stories will be when we meet our soulmates. "Oh, he poked me on Facebook" is probably not an ideal way to meet, but hey, it's the accepted social norm nowadays.

In the end, it's OK to put yourself out there and get hurt. Maybe dating isn't popular among our college selves, but it's certainly not frowned upon or taboo. Yet, here we all are so afraid of doing it out of fear of getting hurt or just missing out on potentially something better.

So, is dating a concept of the past? Dating does exist, but its circumstances have been significantly corrupted and it sucks. It seems we have all forgotten how to "date."