Yesterday, over a mulled wine and mince pie (well, not for me as I hate both) I had a really interesting chat with a family friend about how romance is officially dead. So optimistic and festive, I know. Cheers.

The thing is, she really made me question the youth of today (pahaha) and I'm starting to think that it's not actually my fault at all that I'm single. Actually, it's not even the morons I attract's fault either. It's because I was born into a generation where texting, social media stalking and that damn double blue tick have KILLED real romance.

Back in the day, according to aforementioned family friend, they used to do to 'dances' and 'lock-ins' at country pubs. All 'hanging out' in big mixed groups.. and it would always be exciting because there would always be a 'new man on the scene', bought along as a friend-of-a-friend. They all used to get dressed, put their hair in rollers and jump on the bus to get to what we'd now call 'pre-drinks' with a group of "local lads" at the pub. Then they would pop to the toilets, do their faces, shake their hair out, re-emerge and take the hand of the guy who'd been 'charming them' to head to the dance hall. (Note: this was not a dancehall as seen in Sean Paul's videos circa 2002).

And I dare say she just absolutely wasn't talking about the kind of dancing we do today. They probably did the jive and bopped happily about with fresh bouncy hair rather than bumping/grinding in a dark corner with slightly frizzy extensions (because most clubs are too hot) and a drink spilt down one leg.

And on that alcohol reference.. of course they got delightfully, perfectly tipsy from ONE OR TWO drinks because they didn't start drinking twice a week at 14 and a night out was still special. Plus, they were having so much genuine fun that they didn't fancy not remembering things slash suffering for two days afterwards with a hangover from hell.

Once you'd met someone a couple of times, you'd exchange home telephone numbers (if you had them) or promise to write to each other (I mean.) You'd be suuuper hyped to hear from your man of the moment and the mystery surrounding him was beyond exciting. You'd know almost nothing about him - except for the fact that he's good looking and a (perhaps) a good dancer, so finding conversation topics on the first date would be easy.

Today we know too much. By the time we've been "speaking to someone" (usually that doesn't actually mean that we have heard their voice, it means we're whatsapping) for a couple of weeks, we already know their job, best friend's names and faces, family members and family dynamic, favourite musicians (they've been tweeting Drake lyrics), culinary preferences (Instagram) and all information on any ex girlfriends.

AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THE DOUBLE BLUE TICK. I mean, as if instant messaging wasn't bad enough, we now know for an absolute fact when we're being ignored. Why would whatsapp feel the need to do this? It just leads to all sorts of problems. Girl's minds go into over drive; "he was just online and didn't reply.. who is she?!", and things just get out of hand very quickly.

Plus, in the place of actual conversation, it's all too easy to reply with just one emoticon, thus killing the chat until the other person comes back twenty minutes later with "So, what you up to now?" or something similarly awkward and dead, just to ensure things continue as they were. Chat about the most inane drivel becomes habit because you've been talking so constantly that proper subjects have been exhausted. It's depressing.

I really do feel like I was born in the wrong era. I'm guilty of all the ridiculousness that our generation now thinks of as normal and I'm really the last person to be judging anyone. BUT I'd absolutely love if we all just made a pact to act like grown-up humans and communicate properly using real life words. I believe we should all keep a bit of mystery when we meet someone new and I'm all for bringing back letter-writing (too far?). At the very least, I think more of us need to rely on and have faith in chance meetings and trust in the instant spark you get with someone you really like, rather than swapping numbers with someone we can't remember, stalking their Facebook photo albums from a year ago, and whatsapping all day because we've got nothing better to do.