Jimmy's Daily Planet

“Do you want to go out this Friday?”

Far too often, single men and women are overly analytical when it comes to dating. Both sexes can be found guilty in this respect. And whether it’s a first date or trying to secure a second date, hysteria starts to overwhelm any sense of calmness.

“Why hasn’t she texted yet? She replied quickly to everything else I wrote. Should I have disagreed with her about that book she likes? Does she like me for the right reasons?”

This anxiousness, I think, started to become a hyper-obsession with increasing popularity and frequency of romantic comedies, as well as the introduction of social media. Now, it must be stated that some rom-coms are good and that social media and texting can be fantastic mediums for communicating early on in a relationship and/or dating. There is literally almost nothing better in the earliest phase of dating than a girl you like replying to your text with those three dots blinking that results in a sweet sentiment and a smiley face.

Admit it, your eyes light up.

When Facebook first came out (well, as thefacebook.com) in 2004, it was an incredible bridge for young men and women in college to flirt and introduce themselves beyond a quick “hello” in the cafeteria in a new, non-traditional fashion (ironically, this is traditional practice now). However, Facebook is not the same now as when it first entered our lives ~ a decade ago. Regardless, Facebook was a better, more interactive alternative to email. There was an investment in it. Those moments of waiting for a response in-between classes always had a fun, surprise element to it.

Interestingly, this is all kind of amusing because nerves and butterflies are a good thing when meeting someone new. In fact, it’s a great feeling. This experience should be exciting and different from any other routine activity. If you’re not excited, then something’s wrong. Dating is a thrilling game, intended to reveal a potentially natural magnetism towards someone special…or not. But in the case of the former, all those nerves instantly translate into the most indescribable feelings of happiness.

It’s a truly beautiful thing.

We should accept these nerves as they are because when we meet the right person, the payoff will be eternally worthwhile. We shouldn’t panic and sift through every single detail of our interactions with this person. We should just go with the flow.

Case and point: Instead of over-analyzing the social media aspects of dating and communicating with someone we like, I should have just played the following clip:

Larry David, the man who co-authored the brilliant comedic movement about nothing, has somehow (once again) taught us everything we need to know about interacting with people in various situations.

Despite being a fish in the dark, his vision’s pretty, pretty good.