As I stood at the top of the Basilica Papale di San Pietro, in the Vatican City I gasped at just how beautiful the view in front of me was until… I was quickly spun around by my Italian companion for the perfect ‘selfie’ opportunity.
Instead of enjoying this magnificent view, I enjoyed the wall in front with evidence of the view in the back, when I protested in the name of reality, the response was one I couldn’t fight with…
“IF WE DIDN’T TAKE A SELFIE, DID IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN?
WERE WE REALLY THERE?”
It made me think… if a picture of a view is better than the view itself where does that leave other little pleasures in life; travel, food, love! So here at Trust In Soda we’ve compiled a list of ways tech has changed and maybe even killed romance.
The End of Pick Up Lines- ‘Is that a ladder in your stockings or a gateway to heaven? Grab your coat, you’ve pulled!’ Although the ‘text’ is revolutionary and to be honest, I can’t think of a world where snail-mail was the only way to communicate…HOWER today we can tweet, poke or message somebody without even meeting them. It’s now so easy to see what somebody has been up to, compare mutual interests, friends and even see them through the eyes of others as you scroll their ‘tagged’ pictures album. There is literally nowhere to hide. So before you’re able to put your one liner into practise, somebody has already made an informed decision as to whether you’re future is bright or not.
Expecting The Unexpected Has Become Outdated– ‘So tell us the story, how did you two meet?’ Romantic tales of unexpected encounters have been replaced by the likes of random adding/following on Facebook or Twitter or internet dating. Casual rendezvous instigated by the likes of Tinder and Grinder have well and truly killed the butterflies and spark of meeting someone in the most unlikely of places.
Some People Lie- I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the TV show Catfish, but it follows stories of people who have been dating online but one refuses to meet the other or one tries to move the relationship from virtual reality to actual reality and to be honest most searches do not end well. Their hopes are crushed when the Catfish team finally track down their online lover who 9 times of 10 is NOT who they said they were, not the person in their picture, not the age they claim to be, or gender and sometimes it’s just a horrible game and they’re not interested at all. It’s a warning for you all, you can be whoever you want to be online.
You Can’t Escape The Ex- With technology today an ex, a mistake or just generally the past is unescapable. There was a time where one could break up gracefully and even if it wasn’t gracefully- it was private! Now, we’re constantly connected to those we would rather not be and if it isn’t the very public ‘change of relationship’ post on Facebook, it’s the lack of constant relationship updates or deleted photos from your Instagram feed. Technology has made breaking up hard work.
Professing Your Love Online Seems More Important Than The Love Itself-Sadly, we now live in an age were its not official till its Facebook official! People parade their love whether it’s a gift, a trip away or a romantic meal for two, everything is documented online and it seems one cannot appreciate the small things in life until everyone you’re connected to online has appreciated it too. And now riffs and rows can be caused by your other half not agreeing with this virtual façade.
So, although technology has changed our lives and although we would be lost without it, let this be a small reminder that there are some things in life that don’t require a screen. And maybe we should remember to switch off from our online lives and enjoy the moment we’re in!!
