Introduction
Technology has changed the ways people connect as well as converse with each other in the society; consequently, dating is no exception. Today, it is easy to listen or dead about stories of how couples met on social media or on line dating sites; however, this is not the first time technology has played a significant role in breaching boundaries in bringing couples together. This paper represent an empirical explanation of how technology has changed the way that people seek out marriage or life partners.
From the Victorian period where calling cards were used to communicate to the 21stcentury digital age where video messaging has grown exponentially as the most preferred means to connect, technology has over time changed the dating field.
Timeline of Technology and Relationship Forming
Telephone dating.
Dating as it is known today actually started in the 19th century and it involved a ‘gentleman’s caller’ visiting a woman he found or saw as suitable. The coupled would be chaperoned until mutual interest was achieved (Turner, 2003). However, this changed in the mid-1960s after the invention of the telephone. Communication between the proposed couples to be was done through phone calls between the two. An interpersonal connection was made through phone conversations; subsequently, after mutual interest was achieved, the couples would meet for the first date.
Television shows
In the 1980s, TV shows rules the airwave and commanded significant interest from the society. It from this that shows such as the Newlywed game and the dating game changed how people met up or selected their partners (Hoerschelmann, 2006). The logic might seem hard to conceive, but there are a number of issues that were discussed in such shows that defined the perfect man or women. This changed dating in this period.
Video dating.
VHS technology was the next to change the dating environment. Video dating featured men as well as women providing the video equivalent of a tinder biography (Sfetcu, 2014). It involved individuals sitting back on colourful clothes selling themselves to their significant others who would be watching. Some of these videos are still doing rounds on the internet as they were both somewhat in effective and funny.
Internet dating
As highlighted through the 1990 video dating was all about match making though this was not as effective. Since the beginning of the century when social media or when the internet became available on hand held device matchmaking has gone online. It is said that science is used to highlight compatibility on dating websites and this has become one of the forms of meeting life partners. Social media sites such as Facebook request for details that can also be used by individuals to meet and connect with individuals who they finally call their wives of husbands (Webb, 2013).
In summary, technology has played a significant role in changing human life and dating is no exception. The telephone was the first device that saw individuals change the dating landscape. Instead of being chaperoned to the point of having mutual attraction, telephones allowed proposed couples to connect without physical interaction and subsequently create positive tension before the first date. As time went by TV shows allowed individuals to match with their perfect life partners. This was later shifted to individuals making clips of whom they were, what they represented and whom they wanted to attract through video dating. Finally, the internet made the biggest change in dating through social media and dating sites. These four technologies are responsible for the evolution of dating.
Reference
Hoerschelmann, O. (2006). Rules of the game: Quiz shows and American culture. SUNY Press.
Sfetcu, N. (2014). Dating and Interpersonal Relationships. Nicolae Sfetcu.
Turner, J. S. (2003). Dating and sexuality in America: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.
Webb, A. (2013). Data, a love story: How I gamed online dating to meet my match. New York : Dutton.