5 Ways This Generation's Obsession With Phones Has Taken All The Fun Out Of Dating

We've all seen the damage portable electronic devices wreak on relationships. It's near impossible to be able to sit down at a dinner table without someone uploading a shot of his or her meal to Instagram or thinking up various hashtags to describe the experience.

This isn't just something we just observe, either. Most of us are guilty of this behavior, even though we consciously condemn it. We just can't help ourselves.

Unfortunately, social media and online connectivity have become so pervasive and important in our everyday lives that as a result, we haven't taken the time to assess all that we've given up.

In exchange for convenience, we've lost the romance and mystery typically associated with budding young love. Here are five ways this generation's Internet obsession has removed the fun from dating:

1. We judge our dates before we even get to know them

If you don't Google your date in today's world, you probably aren't being very safe. With Craigslist killers on the loose, 20-somethings need to be extra careful about whom they date.

Social media allows people to take this one step further. Before you even meet your date, you can discover whether or not you have any mutual friends and then inquire even further.

The chances of you walking into a first date without preconceived notions about your match are slim to none — and that can take all the fun out of things.

2. Personal interactions are limited

Before text messaging, people used to visit one another — or at the very least, pick up the phone to call each other. Now, we're groomed to have shorter and shorter attention spans — from 10-second Snapchats to 140 character tweets — and are generally encouraged to keep things brief.

As a result, courtships rarely involve one-on-one time anymore. Before, this was a sign that a relationship was progressing regularly. Now, it means things are getting serious, and quickly.

3. We have easy access to past baggage

Before the advent of social media, people had to ask their significant others about their previous relationships. This usually happened after weeks of working up the courage to inquire into such delicate topics.

Now, you can sort through chronological accounts of a person's past relationships on Facebook and in some cases, this dates back as far as 10 years!

There's little your significant other can tell you that you couldn't have deduced for yourself from the countless photos online and let's face it, unless you have iron willpower, you'll eventually take have a look.

4. We can see if we're being ignored

It used to be that if a guy wasn't calling you back, you would wonder why. Maybe you would repeatedly make sure there was a dial tone on the phone or that no one else was on the line, but that was really the extent of your problems.

Today, we have to worry about why someone isn't responding to a text message.

Suddenly, we see that the person posted mobile updates despite not yet having responded your message, which can be quite infuriating. This generation scoffs at privacy, which provides endless opportunities for unhealthy obsessions for those who feel technologically spurned.

5. There's no sense of adventure anymore

Remember when people used to get lost and stop for directions? Now, there no chance of you ever getting lost again with a minimum of 2 GPS systems in the car. This can make things kind of boring and remove the potential for future stories to tell your kids.

And so ends the fun of old-fashioned romances, not with a bang, but with the swiping of an index finger across a touch phone screen. Sigh.

Photo Courtesy: Tumblr