"So like, are you guys talking or what?" "What are we?" "Are you going to make it official?"
These are three of the most commonly asked questions in regards to the dating culture of today's world.
I really don't understand when or how it all changed. My mother always told me about the times when boys would call the house asking to speak to her in the most proper and polite of ways. There was no "Netflix and Chill", but rather there was a night out to the drive-in, or a walk in the park. People really focused on getting to know one another and understood that good, serious things take time.
Perhaps the introduction of social media into the dating world has created an influence on the development and health of various relationships.
We now live in a world where the strength of your relationship is determined by whether or not you're best friends on Snapchat. (Bonus points for if you have a yellow or red heart by your names.) Did he like your picture on Instagram? Why didn't she favorite your tweet about her? There are so many unanswered questions that we take so seriously and to others, it sounds sort of silly and pathetic.
However, we can't really change it. It would be hypocritical of me to attempt to persuade everyone to bring the old ways of dating back. It just won't happen overnight. To be completely honest, I take those sorts of new technological trends and "milestones" into consideration myself. It's not only what we've seen on television and the Internet, but rather it is something we have created for ourselves. Our parents didn't Snapchat back in the day; to be frank, a good deal of parents don't even understand the concepts and purposes of the social media we use. They'll nod their heads and say "that's nice, honey".
They don't know how our relationships work now. They may pick up on the things of which you inform them, but it isn't like you're discussing it with your friends in your own age group who understand the weight and importance of social media on relationships and dating.
It sort of works like this: people get connected in some way or other, whether they start to communicate over an app of some sort, or they may happen spark a connection in person at work or school. They continue to hang out and get to know each other until they realize whether or not this could "go somewhere". This is known as the "talking" stage.
To us, this sounds completely normal and it's an identifiable grey area in the realm of relationships in today's world. You're more than friends, but not quite "together"? Oh, okay, so you're "talking". We don't know exactly what it is, but we kind of know what it means so we're going to continue going with it until we figure out a better way to reference the situation.
As I said earlier, we can't bring the old ways of dating back completely. It isn't possible. We can rattle on all day about how we were born in the wrong generation, but technological and cultural advances have reformed the way we look at romance and relationships as a whole.
There are still a plethora of ways to be whimsical, spontaneous and romantic in today's mobile society. My point is, it's simply impossible to go back to the 1950's or 1960's where we didn't have the trends and behaviors we have now. We have to embrace our tech-savvy culture and make the most of it, in a great attempt to defy the negative stereotypes associated with dating in the twenty-first century.
