In this 21st Century we do things differently; every aspect of our lives revolves around the effective use of technology. We can order our groceries online, buy products without leaving our home, and do just about anything through an app. However, I wonder whether this is making our relationships easier as well. Social media has shaped the way we interact with one another, we know more about a person because of their Facebook page rather than because we ask them about who they are. Don’t get me wrong, there is no way we can completely know a person through social media, but we start assuming what their character is like based on their posts. In a way, technology is starting to dehumanize us by making us involved in our own superficial interest.
Online shopping has revolutionized products, but now we seem to be shopping for a partner. We go ahead in the dating pool, fishing out who catches our attention. We swipe right for the ones whom we find attractive, schedule for a Netflix and Chill date, have some small talk in person to then continue through texting. We are the generation who desperately wants a relationship but for the wrong reasons. We want to be #RelationshipGoals in an effort to presume a perfect couple. We find ourselves reading ways to conquer his heart and the ways to know If she is into you. We want all the good, the late night talks, the cuddling, the warm feelings, the sex and the illusion that we are not alone. We want to be with someone without the commitment and without the heartache. What we want is a friend with benefits, someone to be close enough to please us, but not close enough to hurt us.
Technology is shaping our lives, but it is also shaping the way we look at relationships. We want what’s easy, we feel entitled to love but not entitled to the commitment. Our life is revolving around superficial standards and we seem to be okay with that. We don’t know what we have to do to keep it; we don’t know if it's just the wrong dating app so we decide to move on to the next one. The reality is that we don’t really want a relationship, we want the idea of it. It is a battle, a battle with ourselves to be difficult enough for the other to conquer, detached enough for them to wonder and once you start the fire, get close enough to feel it, but far enough to not get burned. We keep swiping to see if it finally happens to us, but we miss out by ignoring the fact that maybe, just maybe, all we had to do was look away from the screen.
