Relationships used to begin on nervous coffee dates, not via Facebook Messenger. Relationships used to grow through dinners, outings and surprises, not through witty text messages. At one point, relationships faded through arguments and waning feels, not 140 characters of beating around the bush. And when it was all said and done, we moped, cried, watched "You Got Mail" and gained 20 pounds. Things have changed.
OK, so some of us still gain 20 pounds, but the rest has more or less found its way to the past. It has become easy to forget, to move on and to find our way into the heart or bed of someone new. The faster the internet has gotten, the more time we can flirt, swoon and date virtually. Companies like Match, Plenty of Fish and eHarmony have become staples on our smart phones.
Random Craigslist ads have made escort services available at your fingertips, making it too easy to just move on. Over 40 million people are registered on dating sites, making it extremely simple to jump right into another relationship, or to find you sleeping with someone new. The online world is working in our favor, helping us not just to move on, but just easily not to focus on the negatives that just occurred.
They tell us love leaves a huge dent on our lives, and don't get me wrong, it does. Yet, when you change that Facebook relationship status to 'single,' you know there are enough good looking guys/girls that will inbox you for coffee, dinner or 'to hear your thoughts and help you through it.' Heck, people move on from relationships before they even end, spending nights texting away benign lovers, and would-be replacements.
The line between the end or the beginning has blurred, causing a grey area that has turned much of what we know as like and love on its head. Sexting has become the bane of not only those in committed relationships, but those not in one.
It is insane to think that on a train, the nerd playing Candy Crush on his iPad is sexting just as much as the good looking Abercrombie guy right in front of him. It has become such a habit for some people that they don't even think twice, nor do they find anything wrong with it. Future sexaholics anonymous counselors be wary. It can fill your day up with distraction, but very little substance. And yet, sometimes that’s all we need to recover.
With a booty call or a dinner date only a quick flash across the cyber sphere, being left out in the rain gives you a spare umbrella. It is a fact that most relationships will end, but unlike before where the toll was incredibly heavy for months on end, the lightness offered by technology is holding strong.
A good portion of the population (mostly Generation-Y) has smart phones, tablets, laptops, and in some instances, desk tops. There is such an influx of access points that keeping you occupied, or in constant contact with said individual is mindless. In a nutshell, awkward speed dating, blind dates and internet porn be damned! With this much untapped potential swirling around your broken heart, a remedy can be a click away.
Of course, this isn't canon. There are some who still brood, sulk and shun the avenues of repair. I personally don't enjoy being lost in the mess of online ease. And it is just one option when it comes to coping. But hey, sometimes coating over the past quickly is the best way to find the peace we all deserve.
Ali Abouomar | Elite.
Photo Courtesy: Tumblr
