Fresh out of a six-year relationship, he makes awkward small talk with her, procures her number, and calls her later that night. When he gets Nikki's answering machine, it takes him a few tries to ask her out and leave his number. Soon, his intrusive, self-conscious thoughts sabotage his courtship. He redials numerous times and leaves multiple messages, explaining his relationship history before melting down and calling off his proposed date. As he fumbles through his last message, Nikki jumps on the line: "Don't ever call me again.
During the s, these kinds of brave encounters and voicemail meltdowns were some of the cringey and disjointed ways people attempted to find love. In the predigital age, meeting a romantic partner often required boldly approaching someone, initiating conversation, and exchanging phone numbers. If you were lucky, you could lean on friends, workplaces, and family members to facilitate a mutual connection. But anyone hoping for a relationship had to supply their own outward charm and rely on their own social circle.
While "Swingers" still holds up, that infamous voicemail scene has become a relic, a portal to a simpler and sometimes more stressful time. Since the rise of internet dating sites in the early s and the proliferation of swipe-heavy dating apps over the last decade, it's become much easier to meet a potential romantic partner—and much more complicated too.
These online services from Match. Their accessibility and universality have shaped how romantic relationships have formed over the last several years. But the tide may be returning to more analog methods, as many daters primarily from Generation Z have recently begun to reject the apps, reverting to meeting romantic partners the old-fashioned way—at school, work, or through friends and family.
Spokeo visualized historical data from Stanford University researchers to illustrate the shifts in how couples have met and fallen in love over the years.
