The newer generation, AKA our generation, has been greatly effected by the switch of what it means to date someone. The meaning of a relationship has lost its value, and morals have shifted from what is important to what is wanted.

I myself have witnessed many of today’s “relationships” and what they are made of, and it almost makes me sick seeing how low one’s morals can be.

Dating in the 50’s was formal and respectful. According to Tom McGinnis’ article, A Girl’s Guide to Dating and Going Study, the concept of a couple “going steady” was meant as they would be dating exclusively and feel as if they ‘belonged’ to one another (74).

It was practically mandatory to meet the significant other’s parents. An article form Reader’s Digest states that one of the eight rules that apply to girls for dating is that it was considered proper to introduce your date to your parents, and also that it is considered ‘poor form’ for the date to announce their arrival by honking the horn of the car or, a more modern example, sending a text from the driveway; have some manners and walk up to the door, it’s not that far. (Should We Bring Back 1950’s Dating Rules?).

In the 1950’s, people actually went somewhere romantic for a date. eHow Contributor Kristen Moutria explains that many date ideas included a drive-in movie theatre, eating at an old fashioned ice cream parlor, going bowling, and the classic sharing a malt at the diner (1950 date Ideas).

As amazing as dating in the 1950s sounds, we sadly do not get to experience it. We get to experience something much classier than that. We get to date in the generation where swag is more important than education and you’re not cool if you don’t own a “selfie stick." I have one, but that’s beside the point.

In all seriousness, dating nowadays is not as respectful as it should be.

People turn to “Hookup sites” to meet others more than actually going out to meet someone new. A lot of us have heard of the app, Tinder. If you’re single, odd’s are you’re on it, and if you’re in a happy relationship then odds are you’ve helped your single friends go through the potential and non potential dates they’ve been matched with. You cannot escape it. it’s everywhere.

And from what I’ve noticed, it’s all for fun; the parents don’t get introduced to dates as much anymore because relationships aren't serious enough these days. After all, the basis of most ‘relationships’ now are determined by the swipe of a finger in the right direction.

What do you do on these ‘Tinder dates’ anyway? The first thing that probably comes to your mind is “Netflix and chill”. For those of you who don’t know what this means: you meet up with someone you’re attracted to, you turn on Netflix and then…things happen. According to The Statistics Portal, by the fourth quarter in 2013 there were 699.46 billion movies/videos that were counted as viewed on Netflix (statista.com). My guess is that almost half of those weren’t being watched if you know what I mean.

So where did we go wrong? Well that’s a good question…

I think it’s safe to say that the advances in technology play a key role in the decrease of effort put into relationships these days.

A seemingly popular way to show one’s affection to another is over social media. Let’s just get something out in the open; a “woman crush Wednesday” post is not the most romantic gesture a girl deserves, and the same for men with “Man crush Monday”.

Ruthie Dean of Nashville, co-author of "Real Men Don’t Text," says in USA Today’s article, "How Mobile Changes Dating Habits," that it is easy to see this generation having a huge “handicap” in communication and that we all are focused more on keeping our heads down into our smartphones so much (some more than others) that we don’t know how to express our emotions, making it easier to hide behind a text (USA Today).

I know i’m not the only one who thinks so, and I can’t speak for everyone, but I think a smile or a kiss on the cheek goes a long way compared to clicking a few buttons to send a cluster of emojis to anyone.

Going on a Tinder date may be the social norm today and going to your date’s door when you pick them up may sound like a lot of unnecessary work but when you really think bout it, it’s kind of tragic to see how romance went from “Shared malt and commitment” to “Netflix and chill”.