How have our social networks impacted our ability to form deep and meaningful relationships? Has Facebook changed the way we meet, date and hookup?  In 2012, can we truly commit ourselves to another person, or are we too jaded as a generation raised in cyberspace? Rihanna may have found it in a hopeless place, but can we find love on the Internet?
With the majority of students using it, Facebook is the collegiate equivalent of hanging out by the lockers.Scrolling through the newsfeed, we can filter through updates from our closest several hundred friends. Without making eye contact or a phone call, we can discover who’s single, who’s taken, who’s stressed out about tests, who’s pregnant, who’s eating at Chili’s tonight, who’s wearing their favorite shirt, who’s so sick of fake people and even more.
As the line between the Internet and the interpersonal becomes increasingly blurred, our needs from our social networks have matured. But when each of us becomes split between the self and the online persona, what’s at stake?
Facebook has radically altered traditional “dating” practices. Thanks to Facebook, the “first date” is obsolete. Traditionally, first dates are a test run. Two people would embark on such a challenge as dinner. During this time, they would engage in a series of questions, in hopes of garnering a response similar to the one he or she would have made. Typical first date banter would include talk of hometowns, likes and dislikes.
Facebook has made first date conversation irrelevant as scrolling through a potential partner’s page can fulfill all inquisitions. Facebook has streamlined the dating process.
If Facebook can eliminate the first date, what else can it take from us? In eliminating our need for social interaction, social networks have weakened our capability for it.
Navigating our personal lives through the realm of social networking has mandated we adopt new etiquette. We must ask questions our parents never did. For instance, if I meet someone I like, how long must I wait before adding them as a friend? Is it the male or the female who should initiate said friend request? At what point in a relationship do we become “Facebook official” and what does that title imply? What does “It’s Complicated” mean? How can I tell if a girl is actually a lesbian, or if her “domestic partnership” with that other girl is some sort of strange joke? Why is my self worth so directly related to how many “likes” I get?
We must be careful to use social networks to our romantic advantage. If you like someone, consider posting a link to a music video they might like on their wall. Well-crafted wall posts are appreciated, but go easy on the Facebook chat. Making a Facebook page for your pet is only a little creepy. Making a page for your baby is pretty creepy. Making a second page for yourself so you can be “In a Relationship” with yourself is really creepy, and really hilarious. Don’t be a jerk. Be careful on Craigslist. Don’t invite me to Farmville. 
Wading the web’s waters has provided our generation with a series of obstacles never dealt with by older generations. The pressure is on us to determine the consequences of our hyperspace happenings. I say it’s about balance. I’m a fan of social networks. They’re convenient and entertaining. As we create our online personas, we must type and tag with caution.
While social networks have certainly switched up the game, I see no reason to believe they’ve harmed us. Dating rituals are subject to change. Two hundred years ago, a man would be required to court a woman. Sixty years ago, a girl hoped to get “pinned.” Twenty years ago, women waited by the phone for a man’s call. Today, we chat, message, @ reply, poke, text and sext. Our generation’s courting rituals may seem less intimate, but they’re undeniably more instant.
If Facebook takes away our possibility for romance, we have no one but ourselves to blame. We’re a generation who grew up alongside the Internet. As it evolved and matured, so did we. From Yahoo to Google, from AOL to Chrome, from Xanga to Twitter, we’ve survived. We’re not Generation X or Y. I don’t know what we are. Maybe we’re Generation @.
We still maintain the facilities for romance. I believe in us. In a world full of “likes,” we can still find love.