The irony of technology today is, of course, while it’s suppose to make life easier by keeping us constantly connected and up to date etc etc, it often ends up making us feel the exact opposite.
And we’ve become way too accustomed to it. Social networks, we’re all over, but actual social interaction? Not so much.
It’s no different when it comes to dating. Yes, we’re feeling all nostalgic towards the world of romance pre Tinder, pre smart phones, and pre instant messaging.
It was after the days when two trips to the dancehall meant you were practically engaged, and before Netflix and Chill rejoiced at the wake of courtship and passion.
Basically, while it’s great you can get a date (translation: romance-removed hook-up) at the swipe of a screen, we kind of miss old school dating. You know, when Justin and Britney in head-to-toe denim was the ultimate #RelationshipGoals.
We’re not sure if it was our rose tinted glasses, but it was all a bit more simple back then, wasn’t it?
Getting to know people face to face, not via Facebook
Before you’ve even made it to your dinner, you already know everything about your date – mutual friends, which university they graduated from, and that time in college they experimented with growing their hair long.
Yep, a quick type of their name into Facebook’s search bar, and you’ll pretty much know everything all first date conversations usually reveal.
And don’t even get us started on the Google search…
Actually talking on the phone
Remember when the sound of a phone ringing didn’t fill you with dread and fear? Nowadays, if anyone elects to actually call us, we think there must be something seriously wrong – who’s in hospital?
Back in the day, we’d get all excited when the phone rang, hoping it was for us, sneaking off to find a spot in the house away from prying ears to flirt away via the good old fashion telephone.
After our battle for unlimited minutes over the years, we average up to approx 3 minutes talk time a month. Worth it.
Being able to convince yourself they actually never got your text
None of this double blue tick nonsense. Back in the early days of text messages, it was legitimate to use the excuse ‘Oh, I never got that text’ and we’d all believe it and merrily move on with our lives.
Sometimes they really did just get lost in space and time, right?
Romantic gestures were for YOU, not for Instagram likes
Nothing warms the heart like a big romantic gesture that says just how someone really feels about you. But thanks to social media, the world of romance is super competitive and seemingly all for show (off). #BoyDidGood, we blame YOU.
And with the surprise champagne picnic being immediately snapped, cropped and filtered, it’s hard to really savour the moment, isn’t it?
Not having to decode emojis as well as texts
Ok, so we all get the aubergine means saucy stuff, but we’re still confused as to what some of the other little guys are trying to tell us. Isn’t it complicated enough deciphering a text without throwing emojis in the mix?
Like did you know the rabbit ear twinnies for life actually represents the Japanese version of Playboy Bunnies? Very different meanings…
Having to go to the photobooth for you first snaps together
And generally having ACTUAL photographs.
Jumping in the photobooth, waiting 5 minutes for your picture to come out, and the posting them on your ACTUAL pin board (remember those?) was a big deal in the 90s relationship world.
But the physical photo is no more, and happy snaps are as easy to erase as they are to create. Ain’t that romantic?
And that reminds us….
Dates uninterrupted by selfies and check ins
You know, actually enjoying your date’s company without having to let to whole world know your exact whereabouts.
Living without the fear of ending up an internet meme
Whether it’s the string of messages you're exchanging on Tinder (we’ve all seen those screenshots online) or saucy snaps you’ve sent after one too many mojitos, being able to live without the fear your every interaction with your new partner wont end up on the internet was a blissful time.
Actually telling people your exciting news!
You’re officially a couple, you’ve moved in together, engaged – pregnant! Yep, back in the day, you got to tell your loved one face to face, not via Facebook.
And when you bumped into an old friend in the street, they couldn’t recite your entire romantic history despite not having seen you for eight years.
No social media break up politics to decipher
Old school break up consisited of deleting their number from your phone and just hoping you didn’t bump into them at a mutual friends party.
None of this – do I hide, unfollow or delete him? Only to check their profile twice a day for updates anyway. And which ever you go for, it’s super loaded, and you just can’t really win either way.
Thanks to dating site, TrueView.me.
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