Has dating become a thing of the past? An article by Clutch will lead you to believe that the notion of dating just might be on its way out, and we may want to thank technology for that one.
Take a moment to reflect on the past decade or so of your own life and the role technology has played when it has come to dating. At one time in our lives when we met a guy or girl and wanted to get to know them better we’d take out a pen and scribble our name and number on a piece of paper or say it aloud as he or she wrote it down. Later, they’d call and if we weren’t home they’d leave a message on our answering machine. Then came cell phones and suddenly we had the ability to save their number in our phone. Again, they would call and leave a message asking us to call them back and usually, if we were still interested anyway, we did. And then came text messaging and later, the smart phone and as time has progressed telephone calls have fallen to the wayside.
Hearing people’s voices has been replaced with reading their words. We don’t call the person we are interested in just to say hi. Instead, we just text “hello”, “hi” or “hey” and we don’t laugh aloud anymore, we “LOL,” “Haha,” and we “:-D.” Many of us are guilty of engaging in full on conversations via text messages when we could simply pick up the phone and call. Add in social networks such as Facebook and conversations can be had and plans can all be made without so much as saying a word.
How has this impacted dating? Ever gotten a text from someone you really liked inviting you to “hang out” or met a guy and it seems like he’s into you but it’s hard to tell because he never calls, he just texts? Ever call someone and they don’t answer but immediately respond via text message (or ever do that to someone)?
These days, young women report feeling like formal dates just aren’t happening any more. What are your thoughts on this? Has technology played a role in the demise of courtship? Ever been asked on a date or to “hang out” via text?
Share your thoughts in the comments below and be sure to visit Clutch to find out what has happened to courtship.