As a freelance journalist I’ve reported on a lot of things – fashion and beauty, arts and entertainment, travel and lifestyle trends. But it’s two subjects I’ve writtenabout in particular that I’m pondering as I type this – technology and relationships.
See, I’ve spent a lot of my career so far reporting on technology trends, and I’ve also written my fair share of articles on relationships (how to find them, how to hold on to them, where to hide the body after a nasty breakup). Of course, I’m kidding about that last one but the point is, before starting this blog post, I hadn’t really thought of these two subjects as potential bedfellows (so to speak), but the more I think about it, the more evident it becomes that they belong together.
Relationships need technology to survive, because let’s face it, we’re probably in front of screens (computer, iPad, smartphone, video game) more than we’re in front of our partners. This became crystal clear for me the other day when in one week I found myself emailing my boyfriend – who I LIVE WITH, and then that same week, I received a Facebook message from him. It was then I realized that texting, social networking and email have become a lifeline of sorts between busy couples. Not to mention the potential for sexting, naughty video chats or naked photos sent over email – relationships and technology were made for each other.
Whether we want to admit it or not, technology has become a third party in many relationships. A recent study by British insurance company Esure found that the average couple sends 1,002 text messages and almost 400 emails to each other every year. So unless my boyfriend and I somehow become independently wealthy and can spend more time having face-to-face conversations rather than updating each other over email, we’ll be thankful for the technology that helps keep us connected.
Where would you and your significant other be without technology?
