Dating in the digital age has brought new challenges to singles everywhere.
“When folks are breaking up with each other on Facebook, and a text message equates a love letter, it seems that we actually are quite primed for a romantic reboot.”
We live in the Digital Age where all activities, online or offline, are public. The aforementioned quote appeared in the Mashable article titled “Dear Abby Rebooted: Love Advice for the Digital Age,” and I felt compelled to share it here.
A common theme on my blog is privacy and the current societal shift of all content becoming more and more public. A recent post on eBranding Me stated, “Transparency has become the new measurement for trust.” With the majority of Generation Y allowing social media tools to be integrated into all aspects of their lives, few, if any, of their daily activities remain a truly personal experience.
Facebook provides constant status updates on all of your friends, Twitter is flooded with personal notifications, Foursquare publicizes an individual’s every move and Flickr publishes photos captured at networking events. Pooling information from the vast amount of sources the web has to offer enables employers, parents and ex-lovers the ability to construct a timeline of one person’s life – it’s pretty accurate too!
The world dedicates about 22% of its time on social networking sites; continuously consuming content and uploading new photos, videos, notes and check-ins. This sea of information makes it next to impossible to disconnect from ex’s.
While past generations could easily continue on with their individual lives after a heart-wrenching breakup, modern technology no longer allows us this privilege.
An ex’s Twitter stream could be flooded with tweets about how happy he or she is to be rid of their prior partner or have adoring messages highlighting his or her new fling.
Foursquare may display to a sorrowful single a map of his or her recent ex’s activities and travels, from the singles bar down the street, to a romantic weekend getaway at a beach.
While over a third of women ages 18-34 check Facebook first thing each and every morning, they might be deterred from doing so in order to avoid seeing status updates and recent photos of their ex on their newsfeed. However, a staggering 43% of the United States’ population searches his or her current fling or potential mate on Google.
“Do your Google search results reflect your true personal brand?”
Many Internet users are scared, even intimidated, by some technology currently available. I have some bad news: it is only going to get worse! With Augmented Reality becoming more mainstream, it is likely that Smartphone applications will begin to appear enabling users to gain access to social network profiles with just a picture of someone’s face.
Watch the following video to see how users will have to manage their personal brand to adjust for their social and professional lives.
In closing, I leave you with a dating experiment being launched today in New York City. “Brian”, a recent single, is leaving his dating life in the hands of the masses and going on 30 dates in 30 days. Watch the video to learn more.
Want to know what is worse than all of the examples above? Seeing your ex’s profile on one of the many online dating networks!
To see how dating is related to unemployment and networking, I encourage you to read an archive post: “Single or Unemployed?”
Links
– Facebook – Link
– eBranding Me – Link
– Would you break up via Facebook? Article
– Love Advice for the Digital Age – Article
– How to handle a break-up online – Article
– WTF is Up with My Love Life – Blog
– Relationships and Social Media: Healthy of Hurting – Article
– Dating Brian – Link
– Single or Unemployed? – Article