Dearly beloved,
We gather here today to celebrate an unholy matrimony between man and machine.
Love in the internet age is a fever dream, an entanglement of digital artifacts of past relationships and reminders of present lovers. Couples have been thrust into unwilling polycules with their phones, where the possibility of infinite communication leaves all communication feeling insufficient, and exes are just one Instagram search away.
Meanwhile, for us single folk (Las Culturistas rule No. 34: Street editors are terminally single), dating app feeds are populated with all the wrong people—from the hot TA who failed your CIS midterm to your friend’s ex–situationship. Then again, maybe it only feels like that because of the ridiculous standards that a swipe left or right imposes on possible matches. You can join The League and try to find the crème de la crème, you can think of the perfect opening line every time, but it will never make you not hate yourself. If anything, you’ll hate yourself more.
Our digital spaces also overflow with all the detritus of past loves, be they platonic, star–crossed, or simply unfulfilled. That Spotify Blend we made fall of sophomore year still lives in my Spotify library, that Lady of Guadalupe candle sits in my childhood room back in California, those unsent Notesapp letters of unrequited love are buried in a landfill of longing. But love isn’t always loss; every artifact is evidence that we coexisted, even if it was only for a moment. Love in the digital age is permanence and inescapability. The Cloud and all its contents float over us.
For all the bitching and moaning we do, our relationships with the digital world are the longest standing coupling most of us have ever had. When the feeds run dry, the other side of the bed’s gone cold, and memory alone is insufficient, the digital remembrances of our love online will remain infinite. The adoration we express on the internet is a testament to the people, places, and poetry of love and longing that makes us whole. The act of cementing your love online is both incredibly intimate and increasingly commonplace in the year of our lord MMXXIV. Though some would turn up their noses at the nearly bi–weekly Instagram soft–launches and digital mixtapes, there’s beauty in the real–time documentation of love in the internet age. It’s a short life ahead of us; let’s embrace the raw, unfiltered expressions of love online. After all, love that leaves an indelible mark on your psyche deserves a spot on your feed.
SSSF,
Natalia and Catie
