by Lexi Rosas | staff writer
“You’re not looking for a long term relationship with texting… Are you?” sophomore Nick Jersin said as he rehashes his love life, which has been touched by technology.
Phones have long been a major source of communication, proceeding the demise of handwritten notes, but have letters made a comeback? It could be argued that they have, because talking on the phones went out the window as texting rose to dominance. With texting comes valor, and that valor has become the basis of many flings.
“You can basically live your relationships through text message,” sophomore Hannah Witte said, “Because you can say more courageous and ‘ballsy’ things.”
It turns out that a person’s style of texting as well as their ability to text properly can make or break your relationship.
“If someone can’t communicate effectively through texting, the relationship is hindered because they are boring,” sophomore Taylor Cantu said.
But has texting simply lead to a detachment and laziness? With regular negligence of personal contact it is easy for feelings to be forged or forgotten.
“More people are dating because of technology,” sophomore Peyton Gentry said, “it’s easier and you don’t have to talk to them in person.”
The cyber world has quickly conquered newer generations and it knows no bounds. Not even personal relations are off limits.
“My opinion is that a relationship isn’t real until its F.B.O, also known as Facebook official,”sophomore Nicole Urbanik said.
Facebook has presented a plethora of romantic possibilities. A person can befriend someone, share a lifetime of memories with them and then gather the courage to talk to them- all in the course of a day, and all without leaving the computer.
“Most of my relationships started online. I’ve been through a couple and they were terrible,” Gentry said, “ I have even asked somebody to a dance on Facebook.”
Though Gentry has had a few bad experiences, some see Facebook as the key to successful dating.
“I’ll talk to people I meet in person, who I can’t talk to face-to-face with everyday and it works. When you try to like someone by talking to them everyday things usually work out,” sophomore Nick Jersin said.
Can this generation’s lack of intimacy actually lead to healthy relationships or is it simply contributing to further disconnect that plagues society?
“People are too reliant on technology,” Urbanik said, “Causing a lot of false feelings.”
From the viewpoint of someone slightly older, a teenager’s dependency on technology is pitiful. It is a handicap that promotes sloth and cuts off emotion.
“I don’t personally know how technology has changed dating, because my wife doesn’t like me to date anymore. She said something about a unified family and staying together forever,” joked tennis coach Sean Reno. “I get that high school dating is a highly emotional topic at this age, but I think people have lost some ability to communicate because you don’t have to look somebody in the eye and tell the, something, whether it’s good news or bad. You can send it and it takes away a lot of emotional attachment or feeling, either positive or negative. People use technology as a scapegoat. They use it to escape highly emotional situations.
Like everything else, dating is changing with the times and people are evolving; thus, creating a wider net of connections and into more shallow relationships.
“My daughters will not be able to date,” Reno kidded, “I have arranged marriages for them and they will be going to boarding school in vermont until they are 22.”
