Your cellphone screen eagerly lights up. He snap chatted with the caption "We should hang out sometime." You receive a text a few days later reiterating the offer. You reply that you're free on Friday and he asks what you want to do.
You tell him you're up for anything...only it's not that simple. Now you two are bantering back and forth about what the date (if that's what this is) should consist of. Dinner and a movie? Go to a sporting event? Netflix and chill? Who should drive? Shouldn't he have a plan since he asked in the first place?
Finally, you both decide on something and the date (seems like the appropriate term after all this effort) is set up. Friday is here and your phone goes off. The screen reads, "Hey I'm here."
You two go out and by the end of it you have a good sense of whether this will lead to more plans and excitement, or if it was nice knowing him for the brief period of time you shared together.
If it's the latter, you could attribute the failed success to an awkward evening. Maybe the conversation was as riveting as the one between you and your dentist. Perhaps you both ended up on your phones all night to avoid said lackluster conversation. Or if you're trying to be polite, you two lacked "spark".
But maybe it all comes down to the general lack of imagination. Even on a good date it can be the factor that hinders an enjoyable time together to unforgettable magic.
The problem with the modern date is that little-to-no imagination goes into it.
A snapchat asking to hang out? Better demand those butterflies to stop whizzing around. A text meekly asking, "Wanna hang out?" How about exhibiting confidence (and the ability to plan ahead) with, "I have an incredible idea for Friday night and I'd love for you to be a part of it." Ask any girl and she'll tell you texting "I'm here" is WAY more thoughtful than knocking on the door with flowers in hand.
The modern date is crippled by unoriginality. Through social media, we don't need to worry about a date going awry because we can skew it around what we learn from the screen. We know each other's interests, friends, occupation, dislikes, and personalities based on profiles. We don't need an imagination when we can learn so much about a person before even meeting them. And if all else fails, we'll subject ourselves to the always innovative dinner and a movie. Swoon.
When it comes down to it, the modern date is a far cry from the dates generations before us went on. It generated with an enticing plan that caused you to look forward to it all week long. Then the heart pounded as the door pounded with him on the other side holding your favorite flowers. You'd get to know each other while dancing the night away. He'd walk you to your door and the magic would end and begin with letting the imagination run wild.
