Social media has created this fallacy of having endless choices of people to choose to date. It seems to be that the never-ending swiping and playing āsmash or passā leads one to assume that there is this endless dating pool just waiting for them. The reality is that every swipe is a real person simply reduced down to a few crappy one liners and dimly lit photos. Itās all too simple to reject someone based on a bad photo or because you assume you have nothing in common.
It’s easy to compare the fast-paced, online romance to romance in the āgolden daysā of handwritten love letters and grand gestures. Though āold romanceā may partly be a myth, it does not take away from the argument that romance now has become cheap and fleeting in an age of digital media. People become obsessed with analysing the hidden meaning behind ambiguous texts, or targeted reposts from their āsituationshipā. Social media has often removed the action part out of dating, and reduced it to curated Instagram posts, texts, and ghosting.
However, although social media has come with its cons, it also comes with its pros if you look at it in the right light. As a woman, it is so easy to weed out the ābadā guys when they reveal their red flags by only sliding up with inappropriate remarks, or by making inadvertent, backhanded compliments. It saves time instead of wasting energy on someone who is very clearly incompatible.
It raises the question: has social media killed romance, or has it just made it easier to spot the red flags?Ā
You might be wrongly placing the blame on social media, and should perhaps be placing it on such a person for raising such red flags. Do you have a stalking problem, or is it actually just a red flag that he still follows his ex? Thereās a fine line between being obsessive, and simply just being smart enough to recognise warning signs when you see them.
Additionally, social media has also raised the expectations for dating, especially as a woman. When you see endless posts and trends of healthy relationships, it raises the bar for what you expect out of a potential relationship, and has led to women leaving their toxic or low-effort relationships. Therefore, it canāt be argued that social media has completely killed off romance.Ā
All in all, while social media hasnāt outright killed social media, it has definitely transformed modern romance, yet it can be debated whether this is a positive or negative change. Ultimately, if something is real, then Iād argue that it couldnāt be stopped by something as fickle as social media.