With iPhones and Facebook love has, perhaps unwillingly, travelled to another dimension: cyber space, where physical human contact is losing touch. Before texting and before the internet became cheaper and more standardised, cyber love was thought of as a dirty act in chat rooms on the internet. Now the act of exchanging affections over digital means has become so common that all stages of a modern relationship are communicated through keys instead of kisses.
Before even having a relationship, men and women fantasise over whom their perfect mate could be on internet dating websites. These sites portray a person's personality, promising to use a system to pair with the perfect match. TV commercials sensationalise couples whom have found success. In one aspect, this phenomenon may turn public flirting and sending drinks at the bar look like a medieval tradition.
While in a relationship or sometimes referred to as
Textlationship, couples might text each other more than talk to each other. Perhaps, this is true for telling them something that may be difficult to swallow. Young shy adolescents may find it easier to exchange a first ‘I love you' over an iPhone. You could receive a message that your loved one is cheating just because talking face to face is a tough punch, for both parties.
They want to wait until the reaction and the news has settled in. An American based cell phone company found that forty percent of couples believe that having the ability to text is very important.
Whether couples exchange news of floating stars or falling skies, the physical communication is losing value. The love of your phone might be stronger than the love for your partner. A recent NY Times article states that after scientific research, studies have found that the same neurons transmitted when speaking romantic whispers – kisses – and butterflies are the same ones transmitted when you hear that your iPhone has a new message. If hearing a message tone is the same as getting a kiss, there may be some middle ground about the relationships that is missing.
Remember that although technology has facilitated communication, it has brought humans further apart and isolated from what should be a physical exchange between two lovers.