Shifts in technology change dating customs

Caroline Margle, Staff Columnist

The year is 1965. You’re staring in the mirror fussing with that one piece of hair for the tenth time and continue to tug and pull at your new dress wondering if you look alright. You’re eager as the clock continues to tick, heading closer and closer to 6 p.m. You hear the doorbell ring and race down the stairs to find a handsome young man dressed in a blue button down shirt, khakis, and dress shoes waiting for you.

As he shakes your intimidating father’s hand, he wipes away the buildup of perspiration above his brow between convincing promises that he’ll have you home by 10 p.m. sharp. As he sees you descend from the stairway, his eyes light up with anticipation of what will hopefully be a great night. Your very first date makes your teenage heart pump faster than you thought possible.

Fast forward 53 years.

The year is 2018. Your iPhone X buzzes and lights up revealing his name. “Wyd?” You eagerly pick up the phone to answer your crush thanking the heavens above that he is not standing in front of you to see how flustered you have become from a simple acronym. It’s 10 p.m. already, so you think it’s strange that he wants to know what you’re doing, but you answer with “nmu?” anyway. Ensuring that you are not busy, the conversation continues as you make plans to hangout.

Notice a difference? There was once a time when dating consisted entirely of face-to-face interactions and actual phone calls, versus today’s norm of judging someone strictly from an online profile and treating “Netflix and chill” as a date.

We have a tendency to sit behind phone screens even to the point where we text “here” instead of going to knock on the door to pick someone up. Given the lack of physical, in-person connection involved in dating in 2018, the question remains: Is dating dead?

To answer this question, all one must do is look at the continuing patterns of the dating world today. The world of dating has become somewhat lazy and much more casual than it once was.

Who is to blame for this drastic change? Do we blame the music industry? What about the film industry? It’s safe to say that no one and nothing is to blame. It simply comes down to the natural evolution of the dating world and technological changes which drive the way people communicate.

Dating may not be dead, but it is undeniably changing.

With the advancements of technology driving the new and evolved dating world, the result has been the death of some aspects of dating, but not dating as a whole. Romance, excitement and pure bliss is missing in the lives of those dating in today’s world due to an absence of effort that there once was.

The nervousness and anticipation that were once a part of dating made the process much more romantic in the end. With that in mind, next time put your phone down, ring the doorbell and keep dating alive.