Currently in this generation we say talking to someone to refer to someone we are not quite friends with, but not quite dating either. I don’t even think I realize how ridiculous I sound when I say to my friends, oh no we aren’t dating, just talking. We throw around words in our generation that are just terms to describe short-lived experiences. We don’t know how else to phrase them but by frankly stating what it is. Talking is simply just talking, no he is not your boyfriend nor are you his girlfriend. As sad as I might make this out to seem, it’s so mind blowing that we don’t understand what actually are putting ourselves through. We think that talking to people might lead to relationships and maybe something constant with some sort of substance but it ends exactly as talking. (Well for most of my experiences it ended as that.)

Personally, people have used the term talking to tell their friends about me, “No, Stephanie and I are just talking, definitely not dating” not quite sure why at the time I thought that wasn’t a red flag. People literally distinct a difference between talking and dating. There really should not even be a difference between the two; it's a made up slang. I think my favorite usage of the term is when I tell people about my previous relationship and I say, well we talked for roughly six months, but dated for three years. Really? I talked to someone for six months? We talk to people daily, and we encounter different people more than often.

Talking not only has regards to conversing but to this new way of dating in a sense. Our generation enjoys the word so much because it eliminates any type of seriousness. Instead of an actual title like a boyfriend or girlfriend, talking eliminates any sort of entitlement. I’m the type of person that enjoys seriousness, substance and direction when I’m trying to pursue someone but not everyone feels the same as I do.

When people get bored of a person they can just stop talking to them instead of breaking up with them. It is easier on their conscious to stop talking to someone than to break up with them. Times have changed from the hanging out and going on dates to more of a come over in the middle of the night meaningless action. That to me is the difference between dating someone and talking to them. When dating someone you can go out more, and know at night while you are laying in bed that this has a purpose. When talking to someone you go to sleep not knowing how any of it might end up. The people in our generation should incorporate more honesty about feelings and intentions, so myself and others can avoid getting our feelings hurt by others. It is hard to avoid these things when we live in a generation that approves and encourages this sort of behavior. We are all guilty of using the talking excuse sometime or another, but definitely discouraging short-lived experiences and encouraging long-lasting relationships will make the generation a lot healthier.