The Evolution of Dating
I have always been appalled at how love and dating has transitioned from what we knew of it to what it has come to. But what really has my imagination soaring is what it might become. My mother is still reeling from the fact that I am on dating apps. Will I be the mother that freaks out when my daughter teleports to meet her boyfriend on the Moon, or better still; the mother that sends a drone after her daughter to make sure they are not up to anything out of the world?!
And pretty much on the other end of the spectrum, how I was amazed at my mother’s gaze-only relationship (refer article), would my daughter frown upon my app-fueled love history?
Aah. Fears. Huge little fears.
Let’s start from the very beginning.
Past
The eras of gaze upon gaze romances. The best of premarital intimacy was holding of a hand and stealing of the glances. The coy letter sharing and the silent crying when they were to be married off to a richer and a better match their parent’s found for them. No question about it. No place to talk. Want to meet and get to know your partner better? Sure. Wait until your first night and live a lifetime with a stranger.
Present
Tinder-Swipe-Match-Meet-Netflix and chill-Breakup-Leave-Eat-Swipe. This oh so familiar, flow of events in the life of a normal human being today.
You are not on Tinder? *Horror* *Horror* Even the neighbourhood Aunty is gawking at you in reproach. Have you said hello to the new normal as yet? Snapchat your life, dunk your picture in a million filters till it’s dripping with beauty.
Actually, every ounce of social media has been so interconnected with the dating apps today that it has become super easy to find out everything about a person. Your glamour on Facebook was never meant to be kept a secret anyway.
2025
Say hello to handy devices that will record all details of prospective matches. My bet is a pair of contact lenses that will register an interesting human and record his details. Social media will be not so private, duh!
Devices will also tell you, what your prospective date’s sense of fashion is like and will work as a prompt to wear something that your date will find most appealing.
Is this the beginning of slavery to gadgets? Ah, we shall find out.
2035
Welcome to the age of Virtual Reality dating techniques. You first saw him on your cool contact lenses and decided to take things forward.The chap moved to Alaska (poor you). Fret not, VR will allow you all your intimate space. Not only will you see and feel, but also smell and hear your person! Long distance will now be so once upon a time.
2045
I am betting on a robot that plays matchmaker for everybody. Because hey! Bots know best okay? And obviously we are not going to be moving fingers. Gesture controlled texts will be the order of the day. And if there is a date to be set up, then leave it on the bot to have you dressed and ready, packing you off to the venue — a restaurant run by robots!
Worried that your lack of social skills are going to mess things up? Worry no more. The above mentioned contact lenses will now be wired to your brain and will send signals that help you communicate well. Moreover, you will get live updates as to how the date is going.
2055
This is probably the year my daughter will start dating. Oh god, help. Since everything is micro-chip level analysed, dating will be too. Instead of kundlis and janam patrikas, DNA samples will be swapped, examined, and deciphered. Special matrimonial labs will now stir up the couple’s DNA and whip up a genie-from-the-bottle sort of image of your future child. How convenient.
And of course minor incompatibilities in a couple will be easily detected and guess what, your matrimonial labs can fix that through neurohacking and realignment.
Less divorces? Oh yes!
2065
We are going to miss the old styles of dating and we are going to want to bring it back! Because you know what they say right? Old is gold. Here will be a simulator that will allow you to experience all eras in the comfort of a single room.
Fancy a Victorian era date set up, just choose from the list of setup options and watch both of you swerve into a dimly lit bar in trench coats and corsets. Better yet, fancy a date on the edge of a rocky mountain with a backdrop of dinosaurs. Click. Whooooosh! “Welcome to the Land of the Dino…”.
The experience simulator list has ‘The out of this World’ experience which will be a premium account feature at 3294779323728468399 International Currency only.
2075
If humans have already not been eaten up by aliens, then we are going to be most definitely ruled by machines. The books (what books!?) at that time will be called ‘Love in the time of the machines’. Dating will be just a little bit nonexistent. There is no denying that robots will be going on long, romantic dates however, while humans are strapped onto machines still heavily dependent on the technology sphere of things.
The above mentioned details are only my interpretation and deductions. They could either be rearranged or non-occurring completely. Whatever said and done, one thing is for sure — it’s going to be one helluva change in the dating scene, ahead! Hope you are ready for it!
