21st Century Dating

Welcome to the 21st century.

Some things have changed.

Before I started dating, when my boyfriend and I were still getting to know each other, we knew we liked each other. Why? We texted each other everyday. For hours. To me it’s quite obvious there’s something if there’s a guy I talk to everyday, but one night when I was feeling upset and he called to check up on me, it felt special. Super special. It’s strange when you think about it, because friends used to always talk over the phone anyway – it’s how they stayed in touch. I guess it’s when someone asks you to hang out that made it special. Of course, it still is, but as time goes by, our expectation for human interaction has steadily lowered. I find myself defaulting to texting these days, and I don’t usually like to call unless I have to, or if I know that person well. REALLY WELL.

One day, I was scrapbook-ing and looking at my hand writing when this thought struck my mind like all things that strike, “I don’t even know what my boyfriend’s handwriting looks like!!!” That really weirded me out. Back at school, friends and I would write notes to each other. It made sense to know what your close friends’ handwriting looks like. These days I’ve only seen my own writing in my journal and my mom’s on post-it notes all over the place.

I thought more about it and I realized I don’t even know my boyfriend’s phone number off by heart. It’s just sitting there on my iPhone as a name on speed dial. If my phone died and I needed to call him I wouldn’t be able to. I’d have to find a computer and Facebook message him or email him. That’s not even the ridiculous thing. The absurd is that there’s probably no point in trying to memorize it either since I won’t have to dial his number. I’m just going to keep using my speed dial and forget his number. #thereisaidit

We’re so 21st century we even got into making memes. We didn’t make this one, but my boyfriend sent me this… Unbelievable. This guy, by the way, quotes 9GAG like it’s fact. As in, he quotes it as if he saw it on the news. He doesn’t Instagram, but he’s definitely more of a 21st century kid than I am.

Can you think of any other ways human interaction has evolved?

*I know there are apps for couples now where only they can see each other’s posts and can share photos, notes, to-do lists and calendars. It’s a pretty neat idea, but I think I’ll stick to talking.