Romance In The Information Age

Rosen, C 2004, Romance in the Information Age, The New Atlantis, vol. 4, pp. 3-16.

This article analyses technology’s effect on courtship and
reveals its negative impact on human’s ability to find and experience love. It emphasises
the fast and transparent nature of online courtship and argues that this desire
for transparency is detrimental to one of the key elements of intimate
relationships: trust. The article criticizes the immediacy of technology as a
communication tool by highlighting the trend toward effective communication over
personal communication. It concludes that courtship facilitated by technology
lacks the boundaries of time and privacy that are key elements of developing
trust within a romantic relationship. The author asserts that traditional offline
methods of courtship should be resurrected.

The author, Rosen, is a senior editor at The New Atlantis,
in which this article appeared. Specialising in the social and cultural impact
of technology, she is also a widely published journalist and an adjunct scholar at the American
Enterprise Institute. Although ostensibly knowledgeable in the field, Rosen
adopts a one-sided argument in this article. It presents a bias against the use
of technology as a tool for courtship and the development of intimacy and fails
to explore any notion that opposes that claim. Therefore, whilst the article is
useful in understanding the negative impact of technology on a relationship, it
is not appropriate as an exclusive source of supporting research.