Technology Killed Romance: The Modern Love Story

Keeping in touch with our loved ones now only takes a couple of clicks of the mouse. We can see someone halfway across the world via webcam and talk via messenger platforms such as Skype and yahoo . Emails are sent and received within a span of five minutes. With technology improving every single day, all the romantic/cheesy stuff we've seen in movies while we were growing up are slowly disappearing. No one really hand-writes love letters and sends it through the post office or daydreams about meeting that special encounter again through fate, when you can just look them up on Facebook.

I can’t even remember that last time I actually received something through the post. Snail mail is becoming a thing of the past. A dinosaur if you will that has become extinct and may eventually die out due to its inability to adapt to the needs of the masses. I mean seriously who writes letters anymore? But as a hopeful and optimistic romantic soul, I can openly admit that I miss receiving letters through the post. The unimaginable sensation of joy and excitement of getting that letter holding it in my hands…even innocently blushing and hopelessly losing myself in that moment reminiscing in sheer delight to have held something that has touch the very hand of someone special. It is in those moments that one feels connected with another who may be oceans apart but none the less dear to my heart.  

Most these days are thankful for the modern advancements in technology. Most of us are asking our friends and loved ones, ‘”Why didn't you send me an email? Or reply my Twitter or comment on my blog? There's a million ways you could've reached out and touched me!"

In this day and age, all the beautifully tragic and emotional romantic situations from older movies and books are a lot more difficult to come by. Lost loves, missed opportunities, lovers' quests...are all taking on new shapes and forms. Let's watch "The Airport" to see what they mean.

Well, technologies does make the distance shorter, but sometimes can ruin the old time romantics moment that guys or girls hope for.

For example, the girlfriend ask "Will you miss me when I go oversea?". Instead of reply with "Wait for me, I will travel along with you just to see your face no matter how far we apart", nowadays boyfriend would say "Well, I will Skype with you to save the trouble!"

But honestly, have letters really become yesterday's "technology." I know that it is increasingly necessary and definitely fast and efficient to communicate through social media platforms such as ICQ, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, or even MySpace. I am not denying the appeal or the advances towards connecting people to each other. The internet is by far the best innovative idea and most definitely widens the network and improved our ability to communicate.

But something worth pondering is, has this so called new modern technology taken the romance out of how people interact with each other? Has it killed romance?

I recently stumbled across WongFu Productions, a YouTube based film company in California, created a series of skits titled, “Technology Ruins Romance,” highlighting the unfortunate events of how romance has lost its intimacy after getting sucked into technology. These 3 new shorts series explores the real life dilemmas experienced in dating scenarios and pokes fun at how technology has quite possibly doused the flames of the modern romance fairytale.

Our parents might have told us stories about how they first met – on a bus ride, love at first sight, serendipity, under the moonlight. Then they might have also told us about all the dramas and misunderstandings that happened in between. And what do we have to tell our children? "We met on ICQ."

Don’t get me wrong I am not stuck on old romances based on old technology, but how impersonal has this world become and how easily are people falling and in and out of love over the cyber airwaves. I mean during the time of our parents' generation was more romantic but our children might find our virtual community-love far more romantic than theirs. Social Media fluency might be ruining some of our old romantic moments but maybe it's creating new romances that wouldn't have been possible weren't it for new media.

My final note to this epic saga that has yet to be told, even thought life has sped up and technology allows you to reach out at lightening speeds to millions over the world wide web, don’t lose sight of the one thing that makes us human, the ability to communicate connection on a personal level move forward and keep up with the trends but don’t forget the past. You and I are not reduced to a number. We are people, hear us, feel us, connect with us!