Boy and girl sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

First comes the follow, then comes the DM (direct message), then comes the meet up at the local bar.

That’s not all, that’s not all. I saw her walk of shaming through Eagle Hall.

For those of us on the hunt for mates in the 21st century, this is the new norm. Social media has reconstructed the stages of a healthy relationship. Passing notes and playground tag, once forms of young flirting, have been replaced with silly emojis and sharing cute and funny videos on each others’ walls.

Remember when we used to call our crush’s house phone and our hearts would stop because their parents would answer? Today’s and future generations, will never know the heartbreak of opening a note from your crush, only to see the dreaded check mark next to the word “no.”

Courtship has gone from a shaky “let’s go steady?” to a click on your Facebook personal info page. Chivalry is not missing or dead. The original idea of romanticism has simply been mangled beyond identification by a wireless world. Not to say this has killed our generation’s chance at healthy relationships, but there are no longer guidelines or rules.

Stages were once as followed: meet, flirt, date, lover, marriage and baby.

Stages are now flexible and seen in many variations. Sometimes seen as: flirt online, meet, date, baby, love and marriage. Or maybe flirt online, love, date, meet, marriage and baby. You never know. But who is to say this is the incorrect order?

For some people it is easier to flirt online before meeting in person. With apps such as Tinder and Match, the order of a relationship has been scrambled. The old guidelines have been replaced with the terms and services of dating sites.

I know of relationships, both healthy and strong, that have blossomed from the Internet. The Internet doesn’t remove the possibilities of a healthy relationship. The stages of contact and courtship have evolved to fit into texts and tweets.