Time. It’s a concept that’s been changing the way we live our lives since the very beginning. The way we work, the way we learn, and even the way we celebrate have all been changed over time. Take Valentine’s Day for example: With the advancement of time and technology, our “holiday festivities” have essentially become automated. What probably took months of preparation in the past can be done in minutes these days. A love note, sending flowers, dinner reservations, movie tickets, even finding a date,  can be done today with a couple of taps (or swipes if you’re on tinder) of a finger. While this “automation” is really convenient, at times it can feel  like it’s replacing affection. At what point, if any, does technology replace intimacy? If it does, is it really all that bad?

Finding an objective answer to these questions may be far more complicated than necessary. After all, opinions will heavily depend on any given person’s perspective. When or where they grew up or how technology has affected their relationships can be major factors to someone’s take on the matter. Regardless, for better or for worse, there is no denying technology has played a big part in people’s love lives in recent years.

Gone are the days of hoping the love of your life is going to magically *poof* into existence in front of you. These days, if you want a date, it has never been easier to find one. As of 2017, nineteen percent of people met their spouses online. However, the issue of finding your significant other online is just how vast “online” is. The internet encompasses the entire world. Two people can meet each other without even being in the same continent. This simple fact is responsible for relationships being formed all across the world. As technology increasingly becomes a factor, distance doesn’t seem to matter anymore.

But just meeting someone doesn’t necessarily mean it automatically ends in love. It becomes much easier to feel apathetic toward a person if your relationship doesn’t exist beyond a screen. About eighty percent of millennials say that they’ve been ghosted before. Screens seem to make a “girlfriend/boyfriend” more of a concept then an actual person. It becomes easier to lie, scam, insult, or ghost someone because you don’t really know that person. It’s this lack of intimacy or real world connection that makes technology seem like a barrier, blocking people from real connections.

But true love is whatever any given person makes it out to be. Technology has just given people another way to choose what that true love really is, or how to find it. But there comes a point when the technology has completed it’s job. Eventually, it’s time for all the screens and phones to be turned off and pay attention to what really matters, the love we share with one another on a personal level. Love is a rare thing. Some could spend their entire lives looking for it and even when they finally find it, it can slip away much faster than it arrived. So while it’s there, enjoy it to the fullest. Don’t let it slip away because you’re too busy checking your twitter feed. While time has changed the way people live their lives, nothing, not even time itself, can change the way we feel when we find true and real love.

For more information on celebrating Valentine’s Day and the good and bad of dating sites see the links below:

https://www.datingadvice.com/online-dating/problems-with-online-dating

https://www.datingadvice.com/online-dating/benefits-online-dating

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/a52421/inexpensive-ways-to-celebrate-valentines-day/