Hey I like you, person who likes long walks on a beach

I'm a fan of social media. I mean, it would be social suicide to be born in the '90's and not post what I ate for breakfast, what I'm thinking what I first wake up, and a bajillion inside jokes with friends (guilty...too bad you can't tag people in blogs). I go on facebook at least ten times a day, and I've been known to have complex conversations via text. When I first started facebooking and texting, I limited myself to conversations with people I was already good friends with. We'd discuss important matters such as current crushes, school, and farmville gifts. I thought everything was all well and good and that I was far from techno-freak, when it dawned on me that a majority of my flirting/relationships/declarations of hopeless crushes/breakups/"I like you enough to kiss you but not call you my girlfriend" moments were initiated via facebook or text. And when an entire relationship is based off of "hey, what's up?" "nm, u?", you know that, Huston, we have a problem.

A lot of people, myself included, are more comfortable behind the written word, but how deep into a relationship can you get in 150 characters or less? Sure, it might sound more sexy to text someone "hey, what are you wearing?" (or just plain creepy, depending on the circumstances), but why not go visit said person, see what they're wearing for yourself, and then go get coffee and talk about more vital issues, such as the importance of Big Bird (you knew I'd have to throw that in somewhere). But the sad fact is that flirting is pretty much nonexistent because of accessible technology. I think my ex and I had two face to face conversations where flirting was minimal before he sent me a "I like you more than a friend" text. Well. Silly old me for thinking that a friendship was barely even starting. I forgot that everything happened in two seconds flat.

Call me old fashioned, but just because it's easier to say what we're thinking, doesn't mean the whole charade of courting should disappear along with Britney Spears' hair. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather see a guy standing outside my door with a bouquet of roses and a genuine smile than a smiley emoticon and a bunch of cliched lines that lead up to "hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but I'm a horny seventeen year old, so screw me maybe." Just because it's easier to be courageous behind that tiny keyboard, doesn't mean honesty is always endearing. Just goes to show that the whole thing about girls liking assholes--not true.

We've become faceless drones when it comes to flirting. The same cheesy lines aren't endearing the first time, and certainly not the fifth. Texting is useful for making plans, telling your friend you saw a squirrel eating an ice cream cone, and perhaps a few personal anecdotes, but please, for the love of all things romantic, don't let flirting go extinct. Maybe it's scary. Maybe it's awkward. But flirting is, and always will be just plain sweet. Oh, and so is raspberry chocolate. Hint hint, wink wink.

Namaste.