Where did you meet your partner?

Dating has drastically changed over the decades. A nervous phone call has been replaced with an impersonal text, a private break-up has become a public spectacle. Social media sites like Facebook have improved our lives in many ways – it’s free and easy to stay in touch – but they have also impacted the dating world.

Key changes to the dating world include the following:

Contact is easier

It used to take a lot of courage to ask someone out. The pursued would nervously sit by the phone waiting for the request for a date. Whereas, with social media all it takes is a click of a mouse to set up a date rather than mastering key social skills and basic communication.

Private life is more public

You can adjust your privacy settings on social media sites but it is also increasingly popular to broadcast and share information to your network. Meet a new beau? Social media provides a platform to let everyone in your extended network know you are in a relationship. On the flip side, it can make it difficult when you see a former partner move on.

Interpretation is difficult

Instead of reading body language, tone of voice or other typical social cues, on social media sites it is difficult to determine whether someone is interested or not. Trying to interpret someone’s interest from behind a computer screen can lead to misunderstanding and mixed messages.

Tell us, what do you think of the changes to dating nowadays?