Thanks for the reply, Shy_Emo_chick. I'm curious then, do you date differently than your older family? You also brought up connection, as technology is an oft-criticized medium to remove intimacy from interaction, yet sites like this exist and thrive.

I wonder what the impact of technology is on intimacy and connection. I'm in an awkward generation where I had a bit of the tech-generation in me, and a bit of the 'real world' generation in me (contrasted rather amusingly by my parents as well). Intimacy sure looks different online than in person, though I can't say it's inherently less.

So with the technology we as humans evolve, how are we changing how we relate? It wasn't long ago that marriage was arranged, and family kept very tight-nit with each other, yet considering that these patterns are consistent with agrarian societies, and changed radically to a more personal gratification and choice model at the advent of industrialization (a technology-driven development), it's hard to not feel that the development of the information age may, or possibly has, shifted human interaction again, especially in how we feel about love.

Hey folks, so I saw TiMER today for the first time, and it got me thinking: How does our dating patterns change based on the technology we use? The movie depicted two very different approaches to romance/dating/etc. The 'take it as it comes' approach, and the technologically deterministic approach.

Now granted such a device doesn't exist in reality, but we still have the internet to influence our dating habits (otherwise we wouldn't be here). And in contemplating this I started to think about how matchmaking is done on a lot of sites (OKCupid comes to mind). Honestly, I do examine profiles dramatically differently on OKC than I do in most other sites because of the match algorithm. It shifts some of the analytics to the numerical calculation provided in the % match, so that I'm assessing first on that %, then on appearance and profile content. Now here's the interesting thing: when I don't have that option, I make more complex use of the search filters, effectively imitating a similar rubric mechanism.

This is dramatically different than dating IRL for me (in the few instances that happens). Strangely, the kinds of people and how I screen in-person shifts completely, and becomes more dependent on how the interaction between them and myself is prior to any sort of romantic intention declared.

The core point here, I suppose, is how technology shapes relationship development. I also have to wonder how economic circumstances shapes this as well. Consider agrarian America, ancient Rome, or feudal Japan, compared to today.

I guess even more relevantly to what I want to get at, how do these different circumstances/technologies change our perception on what love and relationships are?

Just kind of a food-for-thought thing.

Cheers,

- Jason