We are a blind generation. Get on any subway, bus or train. Go to any concert, restaurant or museum and watch what people are doing. Can you guess? Yep, walking or sitting around with their eyes glued to their phones. Everything around them is invisible, a blur except the game they're playing, photo they're taking or text they're crafting. We are constantly online and connected everywhere while yet only in one physical place. It's an endless cycle of social media, games, photos and everything in between. We seemingly live half our entire lives online. So how does this apply to dating?

In today's dating-sphere, texting and online dating is more commonplace than ever. Websites and apps like Match.com and Tinder have turned dating into a multitude of mini games and a whirl of faces which has ultimately led to us -- the pickiest dating generation of all time.

We're becoming more fickle, noncommittal, unwilling to settle. Our excess of options has led us to cast aside options quicker and with less thought than ever before. We filter people by their interests, outfits, appearance, etc., and they have to meet every single expectation. We create and idealize this perfect companion in our minds when you could be dismissing him or her without even giving the relationship a chance to begin.

The concept of "the one" has now become a skewed "the perfect one, at first impression." We can filter through everyone, find out everything about someone without even meeting them in person and it's become simply unrealistic. We play little mental games through text messaging, Tinder (for those that use it seriously) and other means of online communication.

Studies have shown that some people actually like to bring about paranoia and anxiety in their partners. It's no longer cool to respond to messages immediately or be straightforward and honest in expressing your true thoughts and feelings. It's all become a sick game, one which we all carefully navigate through. And it's been created by the endless opportunities -- we do this because we can.

Instead of being restricted to a small community -- the people we meet or know from school, work and friends -- our community is bigger than ever. We can be connected to the other side of the world in a matter of seconds. We can meet dozens of people online. We have hundreds of options, hundreds of potentials suitors to explore, sift, and filter through. That multitude, that plethora of options? Naturally, yeah, it's made us picky.

I often fantasize and glorify the past when people went to local town dances, community centers or festivals to meet people, have a conversation, look each other in the eyes and just be people. If you fancied someone, you'd go up to them (in person!) and ask them out. Something classy -- stargazing, wine and cheese nights, a drive-in theater, a simple dinner. Dating back then seemed simpler, less expectant, less manipulative and actually exciting. Not to say this doesn't still happen today -- it happens in different ways. It's evolving, but not necessarily in a way I love.

And if choosing the people to go on dates with isn't difficult enough, the first date has also become harder to get right. A dinner, a movie, a cup of coffee is now all seen as relatively cliche and boring. Nowadays, even the date itself has to be more interesting and innovative. Again, just not boring. Not that I'm entirely against it, but what happened to general tradition and expectation? If we all can agree on anything, it's simply that everything is different. Dating today is constantly changing, and it's tough love. We're all searching for the perfect partner, but we've made it impossibly difficult amidst the bounty of options we've created for ourselves.

So if dating today seems difficult and confusing, don't worry. It is. To some, it feels hopeless, never ending, a waste of effort. To me, it feels like a minefield where one mistake is not easily forgiven. And that's how it'll feel, sometimes. But maybe the companionship we yearn for and romanticize about will all be worth it in the end, maybe worth even more. We just have to smile, keep faith,and give people a chance.

And please, look up from your phone once in a while.