Imagine this: in twenty years, you’re asked how you met your partner. How many of us will say we met them online through an online app?
For many people, this may be the new normal. While it’s not inherently a bad thing – tons of couples have met through apps like Hinge and Tinder and are happily married – is this as romantic as stories from meeting in real life? I couldn’t help but wonder about the meet-cute. Most would know this term from its use in the movies, like when Romeo and Juliet meet at the Capulet party or when Toula and Ian meet in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. This is all to say that there’s something different, and more special, almost, of meeting someone you come to love in person. And even if you don’t end up with them, the memory of meeting that person would always beat the dreaded first Instagram DM or, even worse, the first add on Snapchat.
I asked a friend if she had a good meet-cute story, and she said, “His name was Adrian. One day, when I was back in California, I went to see the movie Asteroid City, but I got there a few minutes early, so I went to the cafe next door to get a drink. He was working at the counter, and when I placed my order, he complimented me on my lizard tattoo. He told me about their religious superstitions, and we talked while he made my drink. Midway through the movie, I got up and went to the cash register at the movie theater to ask for a piece of paper and a pen. I approached him when he was closing and gave him my number. We don’t talk anymore, but I still listen to the playlist he made me. It’s a really fun memory I think about a lot because I had the courage to give a man my number.’’
Stories like this make me believe love can happen even in a digital world.
But why is it so hard for these stories to happen now? Is it because the allure of swiping through someone’s profile has become so much more addicting? I couldn’t help but wonder where we would be if these apps had never existed. Would we have more stories to tell our future generations? It’s tough to say, but these meeting stories make half the fun of a relationship.
Something like what my friend had to say sounds like it came out of a novel, adding to the romance of it all. If we keep relying on social media to guide us to the right person, I fear that the meet-cute will become nothing more than a trope we see in old TV shows and movies.