New Rules of Courting in Digital Age

In talking with my single friends it is clear the rules of dating have changed in this digital age. I mean just a phone call can go to a variety of places. There is the home phone, cell phone, work phone, work cell phone I mean where the hell do you even tell a person to call. Does it depend on where and how you meet or how interested you are in the person. From there you have texting. These little messages back and forth between people which can lead to sexting, sexy little messages back and forth to each other. That plus facebook, MySpace, blogs, dating websites with winks and pokes, how does one sift through it all.

The phone... In general we have 2-4 phones (home, cell, work, work cell). In the past when one met someone they were interested in they got their number, called if interested and went out for coffee, drinks, or dinner depending on their interests. If things go really well you go out for breakfast too, but that is another topic... back to phone calls. Now it seems phone calls are almost non existent. It seems like they have been replaced by texting. So is texting the new phone call?

Since I am not dating I asked my friends and this is what I got. Phone calls are still important and necessary however texting can be an added perk, if used right. If not it is a sign disinterest or of interest in bootycall only. texting with no phone call is not a sign of true interest. Coming from a single male, if a guy is interested he will call. If he wants a booty call he will text to set up an appointment, unless it is spur of the moment then a phone call for a booty call may occur.

With the onset of Skype, which I love, we can see the people we are talking to on the phone, great for long distance relationships. I seriously wish we had this when my husband and I started dating. After the first year of our relationship we spent a year 2000 miles apart. Skype would have come in very handy. Skype can be a great resource for long distance relationships, I know friends of ours loved being able to see and talk to each other for free while studying and working in different countries. Recently I heard Skype has also taken phone sex to a whole new level when Kendra Wilkinson Baskett (Yes Kendra from Girls Next Door and Kendra) said that Skype sex helped her relationship. Well I can only imagine how awkward it would be if my husband's roommate had walked in on that. But Skype really seems like the "next" step in a relationship and in relationship technology.

Now-a-days more and more people are meeting people on dating websites and social networking sites. So on these sites you can "wink", "poke", "friend" or whatever on these sites to show your interest in someone. Your write on someones wall, post something to someones page, or send someone an email to "chat" with someone. Personally I am terified of dating sites and I am testy about social networking (I know blogging seems very contradictory) but I am weary of having strangers on the Internet and the information they can get. Random people "friending" me on FaceBook, not my thing, but apparently it is one of many ways to meet and keep in touch with people.

So once the "meet" has occurred is messaging on social networking enough. Is texting and instant messaging enough? Has keeping in touch with someone via technology replaced human interaction. The consensus among women is phone calls are necessary and while texting, emailing, and social networking are great means of "filler" communication or building blocks to a relationship all of that without a phone calls and human contact is not acceptable if the intent is to build a relationship. However, if one is looking for a booty call technology may be the way. Who knows what the future will bring. Right now we have winks, pokes, and flair; next thing you know you'll be able to give virtual blowjobs.