Romance for Married Couples  Rebecca Hagelin  7/30/2013 12:01:00
AM - Rebecca Hagelin  Cultural Challenge of the Week:
Disappearing Romance  A friend of mine was out to dinner
recently and saw an endearingly awkward teenage couple arrive
for dinner, ready to splurge on a casual sit-down restaurant
instead of the burger joint next door. They seemed intent on
giving a “real” date—with actual, face-to-face extended
conversation—a try.  Alas, not really. Within minutes of being
seated, both the boy and the girl pulled out their smartphones
and began to tap their screens addictively. It was obvious that
neither person thought there was anything wrong with focusing on
screens, instead of the other person, during an obviously early-
in-the-relationship date.  My friend’s story sparked our own
discussion about why these teens thought friendship and romance
would be better fueled by technology than real life affection
and attention. Certainly the ‘normalcy’ of electronic
communication technology nowadays is a contribut