If we compare today's relationships with the relationships from 30 years ago, there's a world of difference. It's almost like dating has taken on a whole new definition. Years ago, people would muster up the courage to ask someone they're interested in on a real date. This meant they'd have to come face to face with one another and actually express their desires to see each other again. Shocking, huh?
Living in a society with advanced technology has its ups and downs. Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are all great ways to connect with each other and show our followers little morsels of our lives. But we've gotten much too comfortable with it. It's far more common to message someone and ask them on a date than to approach someone in person to do so. In fact, some people find it almost creepy if a guy/girl comes up to them in person to strike up a conversation; because God forbid there be any real life interaction. We've been so tricked into thinking a random person messaging us over the internet is somehow less creepy but superior to a person complimenting us in person with a genuine connection. What have we done?
Let's fast forward to the part where two people are happily talking to each other. Key word: talking, not dating. Maybe it's just from my perspective but it seems rare that people want to make things official these days. "Oh, are you and ___ dating?" "No, we're just talking." Now what exactly does talking entail? Just about everything a relationship does, minus the title and a few other small things. In my perspective, the reason behind talking, and not dating, is that it allows us to be with other people at the same time. "I like you a lot and I enjoy being around you but it's just that I don't want to commit right now." But really, let's be honest with ourselves. They really just want to mess around with other people.
When it comes to the dating phase, where you like a person and want to spend time with them before putting a title on it and becoming serious, there seems to be a lack of effort put into the actual date. For example, in this day and age, watching Netflix is considered a date. Cuddling up and watching a movie is always fun, but when that's consistently all you do with someone then it feels like there's no effort.
The most annoying thing that I have witnessed in modern day relationships is the amount of jealousy. If you like someones Instagram picture, does that automatically mean you like them or are attracted to them? No, but for whatever the reason may be, people lose trust in their significant other simply because they liked someone else's Instagram picture. Pathetic, I know. Technology in modern society really has a way of letting people ruin their own relationships, but the technology is not the one at fault.
Back in the day, dating involved showing up at the persons doorstep and picking them up for dinner. Today, it's nearly the opposite. It's so casual and nearly no effort is put forth into relationships anymore. Either people jump into a relationship too quickly or they're unsure of if they even want to commit to the person. Online dating is much more acceptable than meeting someone in person. Netflix and Chill has become the new dinner and a movie. The only thing we can do about this is to take dating more seriously. If we want a girl or a guy to be serious about us, we have to step up our game and stop messing around.
