I remember when my body began to change. At the time I was overweight, and my hormones were raging. The young man that had misconstrued women for having "cooties" was starting to find interest in wanting a significant other. I can vividly remember the times I would call the girl that I liked from the house phone in 4th grade. Her father would pick up the phone first and I would always be nervous to ask him if I could speak to his daughter.

The conversation consisted of mostly dull surface level questions and awkward silence, but the time I had put in paid off when I let her know that I liked her, and the feelings were mutual. Now, I may have just been in 4th grade at the time and didn't know what love was or what a relationship entailed. But I do know that I was only armed with my sub-par looks and a comedic personality to woo her. I didn't have Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, or Tinder (dare I say) to enable me to do my own research on her and conclude on whether I wanted to shoot my shot. I just did it.

That was in 2005. Fast forward 13 years and this is how relationships have lost their sentimental value.

1. The Friendzone

I'm not exactly sure when or where the term came into existence, but it has been a toxic word for men and women everywhere. Now that the friend zone is common terminology, it feels as if there is a window of opportunity between the time you meet a person you're interested in and entering the friend zone.

2. The Infinite Amount Of Messaging Applications Available

With great applications comes greater temptations. Every major application has its own separate messaging threads. Cheating is at an all-time high in my opinion and its because of the extended reach we have because of our phones. Sliding in DMs, cloaking contacts, and Snapchat teases are just a few of many ways that can lead to trust issue between you and your (potential) partner.

3. Tinder, Bumble, POF, etc...

There are positives and negatives to these social dating apps, but they quickly turned into one-night stands rather than what I believe the creators intended. I remember being at a bar and one of my friends was belligerently drunk attempting to ask a girl for her number. He quickly got shutdown because of his current state and replied with "F*** you, I will just go on Bumble." He then proceeded to open the app and swipe right furiously. In another location I saw two girls on the outside patio of a social setting doing the exact same thing. My preceding thoughts were why even go out if that is what you will end up doing anyways?

4. Side Pieces

This is by far the worst concept of "dating" my ears have ever heard of. I got completely sick to my stomach when I first hear someone say "side chick." Just stay single if that is the case.

This is not to deter anyone from getting into a relationship because there are still people out there who want to be in monogamous relationships and won't compromise ruining a great relationship. But, in 2018 there are more temptations that we have to face than previous generations had to deal with "back in the good ole days."