On: Gen Ys, Dating and Technology
The evolution in technology and mobile penetration in Africa has taken the dating landscape through a complete metanoia. I have heard of accounts while our parents dated, they had to agree a week or perhaps a month in advance on which day to meet, what time and where, to be precise; whether under the huge mango tree next to the market or wherever was deemed appropriate. The point is that all this had to be done far in advance.
We Gen Y ‘digital natives’ who have grown up with technology, have the added advantage of being able to firm up arrangements quickly. at the touch of a button. As a matter of fact, technology is so inculcated in our culture nowadays, that hookups and break ups all seem to take place on Whatsapp, everyday.
We have witnessed the emergence of online dating, blind dating, speed dating and numerous dating sites with a lot of advice for the young singles. These has made it possible for long distance relationships to thrive; a gentleman in Quebec, Canada and a lady in Nakuru, Kenya can date, make wedding plans and arrange for the grand wedding and eventually proceed to a common household thanks to digital tools like Skype.
This has made the sharing of sentimental photos easier as lovers reminisce and cherish the mushy moments they had as opposed to pulling out an old dusty album from the shelves and shipping it to wherever and having to pay heavy customs just to share your story.
Emails fly everyday across gmail, photos across Instagram, Captions through Facebook, Trends through Twitter of epic proposals etc and this has been an absolute game changer. While I believe technology has, on the whole, been good in terms of the dating arena, it is not without its shortcomings although I strongly believe the pros outweigh the cons.
Save for cyber bullying perhaps of young lovers, trolls, stalking among other ills, effective use of the technology available especially today where this features have been made dynamic and can easily fit as applications in the handsets we carry in the name of mobile phones, there’s a lot that remains untold and I have a good feeling about it
I pass my special regards to those given to developing systems that make communication quicker, cheaper and more efficient. I, for one, salute them! Until we meet again. Welcome to a man’s world By Mitchell Odhiambo
To get a female perspective on this, please click link to view my colleague Lucy’s view on this topic – http://goo.gl/15jm05
