Text is not Dead

The movie He’s Just Not That Into You has a full and talented cast who portray realistic characters.  Don’t worry, I have a point (promise).  Drew Barrymore plays a character, Mary, who serves as the mouthpiece for dating in a technology-charged environment.  I just recently watched it again on DVD, and I was surprised to see that the dating issues brought up were relevant to the constantly changing culture of new media.  Businesses, even political candidates, are on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and many others.  Many are writing about how these advances affect the business world. However, I’d like to look at it through a slightly different lens. In order to really understand our current electronic culture, one can glean a wealth of knowledge from simply watching dating practices.  I say this because dating is one of the most complex social interactions in our culture.  It involves knowing how to communicate and which portal yields the best results (voice mails, texts to cell phones, emails, or messages on Facebook). Also, it involves making and maintaining connections- more so than old friends from high school or even a co-worker.  And, one of the biggest challenges dating and technology has created for people is the need to convey complex emotions, such as flirting, via text or emails.  Technology has drastically increased the speed of communication, and in dating, timing is everything.

My husband and I were talking with one of our friends who is in the midst of the dating scene.  I suggested our friend call the subject of interest… yes call.  My husband leans over and says in my ear, “this generation doesn’t call anymore.”  I quickly corrected myself and said “text.”  My friend was caught up on the “this generation” comment because there was only a two-year difference between us.  Honestly, our ages could have been minutes apart, and it would have still seemed like a different arena.  The fact is the last time my husband and I were on the dating scene… well, yes we called, sometimes emailed, but no text, no myspace.  The game was easier to play then, and sadly then was only a few years ago.

I think this is key.  People who survive and thrive in the dating market have more skill in technological connectivity and communication than some professionals who are trying to get the system to work for them.  We watch the dating community, the trends; we learn.  At one point in the movie, Mary says that to make herself more attractive to the opposite sex she doesn’t get a new haircut; she updates her profile.  We learn.

I love YouTube, but it doesn’t always love me back.  I couldn’t actually get the clip I wanted, but I found the key portion of it at the end of the trailer.

Enjoy.