Aziz Ansari’s Master of None was an amazing exemplification of what modern romance could be, and what the unfortunate majority of it is today. I wanted to give a quick take on the subject, particularly how dating has taken form in 2015:

It all starts with smartphones: people have a such a hard time making straightforward plans and sticking to them. It’s never been easier to passively agree to plans and then flake out on it at the last moment – Aziz points it out perfectly in the above video. On that same note, the value of being with any given person has also diminished because you can access so much about what other people are doing at any given time. The fear of missing out on a better opportunity has reached it’s peak.

It’s a supply and demand issue, where the supply of spending “time” with someone has exponentially increased. You can follow someone on instagram, twitter, and facebook all at once in a single browser to see what someone is up to. The fear of being at the wrong event is absolutely crippling. Technology has put us in a position of a perpetual paradox of choice and therefore glued to it. While this problem isn’t exclusively with dating, it takes hold in annoying way while you’re single, and then diminishes as the high of a new relationship takes over.

Thought technology in the context of modern dating has not been all bad: it’s never been easier to find amazing things to do. It’s never been easier to discover to restaurants, spontaneous events, and instantly connect with someone else when the time is right.

The social construct that is now dating has also ruined, for many, what dating is supposed to be. Dating somebody is now a big ordeal because word travels fast and an clear intention to trying got get to know someone better turns into something that it’s no inherently. Both the mutual acknowledgement of this construct and third party reminders have made the stakes of actually going on a date absolutely inflated.

Most importantly, though, while all of these things making the process of dating unique to 2015 – the core of dating has remained the same: it’s an unbelievable experience to get to know someone else, and yourself, at a deep and meaningful level.