In today’s technology-ridden environment, it is almost impossible to avoid interacting with some form of online medium. Social media is quickly becoming more than a pastime-but an entirely new form of communication. Take hashtags for example- entire contexts can be created simply by adding the # symbol to the end of post online.
So what does all of this mean for dating? It is safe to say that gone are the ages of knocking on a girl/guy’s door and praying their parents aren’t the one to answer. Now, you can simply Facebook them, Tweet them, Instagram them, Snapchat them, Vine….well, you get the picture. Yet with all of these new methods of direct communication, are we really getting closer- or farther away?
There are some great pros to online dating and interacting online in general. For example, no need to do a background check when you can glance everyone’s activity from vacations to what they had for dinner at the click of a button. It is a lot easier to get a sense of what someone is into by looking at their Facebook pictures or Twitter posts. However, the proverbial ‘don’t judge a book’ comes to mind on this one. Online dating has become very visually oriented, and it makes it somewhat difficult for a person’s real personality to shine through. While modern dating sites do all they can to include interests sections and ‘about me’s, writing a self-selling sales pitch isn’t everyone’s idea of romance.
Luckily, there are still some services that offer other options for those of us who just can’t seem to find the appropriate hashtag. And while online platforms definitely have their uses and benefits, there is still no beating a live conversation. So if you are finding yourself struggling to connect with a keyboard between you and your intended, why not try picking up the phone and connecting one on one- no hashtags required.