Technology and Dating... Then and Now
Dating... Then.
You meet a guy at a bar. You exchange phone numbers. You suffer through 8 hours of work the next day and come home to the glorious blinking red light of your answering machine.
The two of you stay up all night talking on the phone. This is it. He is The One.
You make plans for the following night.
First date goes according to plan. Second date goes according to plan.
Somewhere around the third date, the phone calls start to fade out.
Insanity kicks in.
The 8 hours at work start to feel like a year. All you can think of is the damn blinking red light.
You arrive home. Nothing.
You stare at the phone, willing it to ring. You wonder what he’s doing, if he’s out with another girl, if he’s sitting home doing the same thing you’re doing.
You debate calling him. You debate leaving, but decide against it in case he does call and you’re not here.
You realize you know where he lives. You consider the unthinkable.
You pick up a bottle of vodka and your best girlfriend. In the off-chance you do get caught, at least you can blame it on the booze.
You do the “drive-by.” His car is nowhere to be found.
You return home with the exact same information you left with.
The light still isn’t blinking.
Dating… Now.
You meet a guy at a bar. You exchange phone numbers, email addresses and Facebook URL’s.
You get absolutely nothing done at work the next day because spend the entire time scouring his Facebook page and digging up any information on him that you possibly can.
You discover the names of his parents, best friends, the city he grew up in, and what he’s done during every weekend since the beginning of time.
The two of you stay up all night texting. You make plans for the following night.
First date goes according to plan. Each time he mentions a relative or friend, you pretend you have no idea who these people are, even though you could pick them out of a lineup.
Second date goes according to plan. There is no mention of a third date yet.
The texts are still coming, but less often.
You refresh his Facebook page every ten minutes. He is now friends with “Theresa Olsen” and “Megan Shea.” Theresa is a 42-year old married woman. Megan is a 22-year old single blonde.
You refresh Megan’s page every ten minutes.
You notice he has a new wall post from “Laura McMillian,” relaying some sort of private joke from the previous night.
You refresh Laura and Megan’s page every ten minutes.
