Technology and Romance
Technology and other advances have had a positive impact on love and romance. The way people communicate and converse with others in society has changed dramatically as a result of current technological advances, and dating is no exception (Hertlein, 64). People have been using technologies to extend their opportunities, pursue romance, and encounter others since the advent of the internet. Traditional dating apps are giving way to better software that will do the matching for us. One of the only aspects that have survived the test of time is good old-fashioned romance. However, it is evident that love interests and the way people go about meeting and courting have changed following the technological advancements that have made it easier for people to deal with long-distance love.
Discussion
The emergence of smart phones means that people are always contactable with the social media ensuring that people get to know us before even meeting them and dating apps providing an abundance of choice in a suitable partner (Roeffen, 33). Unlike in the past when people used to go for blind dates, the current technological advancement through different social media platforms like FaceBook and Twitter offers a wealth of information which is always a click away, so there is no need for blind dates. This has positively changed how different people meet their partners.
Online Dating Apps
Secondly, the online dating apps which are systems designed to enable strangers to locate and introduce themselves to new people over the internet have made it easy for people to develop romantic as well as sexual relationships. For instance, Tinder an online dating app helps people to search for single people within their area who are interested in dating (Roeffen, 43).The online dating apps provide information related to different people in short profiles which are stored in their phones as dating IDS or usernames on mobile dating sites. The information includes gender, age, and preference. This increases the opportunities for meeting through focusing the attention on users sharing the same proximity as well as social network.
Convenience of Online Dating
Thirdly, online dating services have positive effects when it comes to the convenience of people looking for partners as it saves a lot of time which would have been lost locating a potential partner. For example, TryCupid.com saves time and money when looking for a partner as compared to any traditional method (Roeffen, 13). This means that technology has made the world of romance faster as people are spending less time looking for partners. Through the innovations, dating is now working around people's lives in a time-efficient way.
Role of Texting in Dating
Additionally, despite the fact that meeting in person is always essential; technology has helped the concept of love and romance to evolve to an extent where weeks of instant emailing and messaging plants seeds of a relationship (Schade et al., 66). Most of us are currently relying on emails and Skype to nurture long-distance relationships. Frequent friendly messages and emails are now the new ways to show interest in other people.
Text Messaging in Romance
Text messages have also positively changed the concept of love and romance. To start with, following the current technological advancements text messages have proved to be easy, quick and convenient ways of getting messages across (Close, Angelin & George Zinkhan 24). Texting allows people to multitask or to communicate with people while still engaging in other activities. Messages are also ideal for arranging plans as they offer documentation of the address or directions to the preferred location. Text messaging is currently among the first communication means in the current society and is also a primary medium used in sexual as well as romantic correspondence. It has obscured most of the earlier means of relational communication like written word as it allows the romantic partners to create and develop their relationships. When one is not in a position to talk to his or her partner on the phone, the information is exchanged via text. Texting, therefore, plays a critical role in dating as it reduces uncertainty, lessens anxiety and maintains relationships through frequent communication.
Video Calls in Long-Distance Relationships
Other technological advancements and innovations like video calls have also made romance easier. We are currently living in a society where people are enjoying the benefits brought about by technological advancements like smartphone applications. Through the video calls, long-distance partners across the globe can easily talk and see each other through a screen. A few decades ago this was considered a far-fetched daydream. Additionally, it is now easy to decide whether one likes a person based on their profile pictures through the use of different online services like Yahoo and Myspace (Schade et al., 66). It is also easy to understand who a person is by just browsing through their online content available on the internet. This means that getting into a relationship is now easy and effective than it was a few decades ago.
Expanding the Scope of Meeting People
Moreover, technology has broadened people's scope concerning how and where they can meet. Gone are the days that people used to be limited to their hometowns. Technology has opened a broad avenue of the people we might be interested in. Using different electronic devices we are now able to communicate with people from different regions, countries and even the world as a whole (Janco, 17). This is important as it enhances the romantic world making it easier than it was before the internet and technology. Technology has also made romance easier as it has enhanced love and romantic concepts. We are now able to send flirtatious notes and messages which are readily available on the internet on special days like Valentine Day. This means that people no longer go through the hustle of composing love messages as they are just a click away.
Possibility and Convenience
Apart from providing access to more people, technology has made romance easier as it has demonstrated the possibility of what could happen as well as ways of achieving it quickly (Close, Angelin & George Zinkhan 54). What hindered people from finding suitable partners has now been eliminated as discovering an ideal date is now portable, less time-consuming, manageable as well as convenient that never before. The dating sites, for instance, have provided a glimpse of what is possible in love and romance. People are also constantly updating their statuses which have positively changed the attitudes of dating. The internet has also ensured an unlimited access to numerous fish in the sea unlike in the past when the chances of finding a perfect date were limited to the work acquaintances, social life and even a friend of a friend who wanted to organize a blind date.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident from the discussion that technological advancements and innovation have made romance easier. Over the past few years, the evolution of finding love has seen us improve from sending love letters to scrolling through the latest profiles on our phones and computers and later instantly deciding whether or not one is compatible with another person. The online dating sites and apps have removed numerous barriers like distance, time restraints, lack of confidence as well as career demands that hindered people from finding their true love.
Work Cited
Close, Angeline G., and George Zinkhan. “Romance and the Internet: The E-Mergence of Edating.” (2012).
Hertlein, Katherine M. “Digital dwelling: Technology in couple and family relationships.” Family Relations 61.3 (2012): 374-387.
Janco, Ellie. “Survival of the Digital: Networking Romance.” (2012).
Roeffen, Caro. “Mobile dating: Romance is just a swipe away Tinders Romantic and sexual interactions.” (2015).
Schade, Lori Cluff, et al. “Using technology to connect in romantic relationships: Effects on attachment, relationship satisfaction, and stability in emerging adults.” Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy 12.4 (2013): 314-338.
