"Nobody dates in college!"

"You have the rest of your life to be committed to someone. Why start now? Be free!"

I've heard that, as I'm sure you have too. I heard it so much my freshman fall quarter in college, that it started to convince me that this is, in fact, the modernized perspective of my generation. I was just a hopeless romantic behind on the times. But as many times as I've heard somebody try to use the word "slut" as an empowering synonym with sexual autonomy in order to gain sexual equality with men, I've seen people walk to class holding hands or change their status to "In a Relationship."

I have few friends who have been in three year long relationships but I have more friends that can't seem to be treated with an ounce of dignity and respect by anyone they get involved with, no matter what they try. And my heart breaks for them each time. It's made me ask, what's wrong with college relationships?

Aziz Ansari teamed up with NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg and wrote a book on how technology and other factors have changed dating as well as marriage norms. It's a fascinating, as well as laugh-out-loud hilarious, sociological perspective on dating that had me seeing everything from a new point of view and it answered some perplexing questions. With the help of Aziz, I will answer some of those questions that I think we've all thought about at one point. As a disclaimer, yes, almost all the quotes and stats I use are from this book.

I feel like there's no where to actually meet people. What gives?

According to a 2010 poll on how heterosexual Americans met their spouses or romantic partners, 29 percent met them through friends, 24 percent met at a bar, and 22 percent met online. These three categories were the most common in the study. However, meeting someone online is becoming increasingly popular, especially with the astronomical rise of apps like Tinder and OK Cupid. It's not surprising since in 2014, on average, a person spends about 7.5 hours in front of a screen (whether it be a smart phone, tablet, TV or computer). As our generation is becoming increasingly attached to life online, it's becoming the most likely place to meet a romantic partner.

How do I ask someone out? Face-to-Face? Phone Call? Text? Snapchat? There are so many options!

In 2013, Match.com posted a survey and asked Americans what their most likely method of communication would be in order to ask someone out. Thirty-seven percent of participants under 30 said that they preferred to ask Face-to-Face. As a very close second, 32 percent answered that text messaging was their preferred method. Phone calls have been dropping drastically over the past couple of years, as only 23 percent said they would call someone. In that respect, it boils down to preference. But the decline in phone calls shows that spontaneous conversation is becoming increasingly difficult for the coming generations because so many of them rely on carefully formulating a response through text. Sherry Turkle wrote all about it in her book, "Alone Together." Concerning to say the least.

Well... What do I say? I don't want him/her to think I'm a dork or *gasp* desperate...

Pro tip: Giving a specific time with a thing to do together will give you a better chance than anything else at actually hanging out with the person of interest. Even more so, texting about something from the most recent in-person interaction will make you stand out. If you're feeling really confident, a sense of humor goes a long way, if pulled off well. Be direct and you'll get a direct answer.

Ahhh I'm not good at this texting thing. Do I text back right away or wait?

WAIT. Just wait. I used to fall in this trap all the time. I have my phone on me all the time, and it's very convenient for me to respond back to texts quick with a genuine and spontaneous response, as if I were talking to the person in real life. But the dating world, even with its rising complications due to technology, is still a game and waiting is a means to play. Texting is linked to instant gratification and texts can be received as "rewards" in our brains, because it makes us feel good to get one. Basically "if you are a guy or girl who texts back immediately, you are taken for granted and ultimately lower your value as a reward" (page 59 of the book if you don't believe me). There's countless rules that you can hear from other people, but the easiest way is to just play it cool. If someone texts you, and you're doing homework, eating, at the gym, or watching an episode of "The Office," just finish up and then respond. Yes, its frustrating, but think about it. You don't want your world to suddenly revolve around someone who just walked into it. Your time and mental energy is valuable and you have to devote it to things and people that are important to you.

I've been hanging out with someone for a while and seemed to be going great, but it fizzled out, and I don't know what happened.

Imagine you have three doors and you have to pick one to walk through. That's not too hard a decision to make. Now, picture you have 1,000 doors. Suddenly picking one door to walk through becomes a lot harder. Unlike any other generation before us, we have options. So many in fact, it overwhelms us. You open up Tinder, and you have thousands and thousands of local people that are your age and (hopefully) single: all options. This goes the same for everyone around you and as a result, FOMO is getting in the way of a lot of relationships actually being labeled. There's a fear, that not all people have, but some, that someone better for them is going to come along. As people, we are always and forever going to be in search of "the best" of whatever we are looking for. I think this is the part that's the most sad. "The best" is a really problematic phrase to use when describing people, because no one is perfect and it's very confusing to think about what "the best person for you" even looks like. Some really great people get overlooked or made to feel like they're not good enough, over just an idea. So friend, it's not you, it's FOMO. But don't get hung up on it, you deserve someone who will put time and effort into making you feel special.

Healthy and organic relationships can be formed but it's also good to recognize the problems that people can run into with a quickly evolving culture. I am not an expert on the dating world and I don't claim to be one just from reading this book. I just think insightful and interesting work should be shared.

So read a book, it's good for you!