Modern Romance

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

As a bona fide yuppie/yappie/millenial, this book is mandatory reading. I had very low expectations, and they were narrowly exceeded. I finished this in less than two days, which is about the amount of time it takes me to read a Wait But Why article.

1) A 1932 study found that 1 in 8 couples had lived in the same building before getting married.

Now it’s a sin to marry someone from the same continent.

2) People used to look for a pot of water and heat it up later. Now, people look for a pot of boiling water.

One of the best metaphors in the book.

3) The first SMS sent was a text of “Merry Christmas” in 1992.

Do people text anymore?

4) In a largely forgotten transient phase between newspaper ads and online dating, people used to make videos of themselves.

Sometimes I think there hasn’t been much technological advances over my lifetime; it’s probably more of a statement on how natural new things feel.

5) Between 2005-2012, more than 1/3 of couples who got married in the US met through online dating.

That’s an incredible number, for a concept that has been looked down upon.

6) Grindr came out 3 years before Tinder. And they even made Blendr before Tinder.

Goes to show that being first doesn’t guarantee you win. (Tesla…)

7) A 2013 survey showed that 45% of women age 16-24 were not interested in or despised sexual contact.

Yes, this is Japan.

8) Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri – and the current President of Argentina – said that women like to be catcalled.

I really feel that the era of being PC is coming to an end. This presidential election will be a tipping point.

9) Telos are love hotels popular in Buenos Aires.

Goes to show that just because young people live with their parents doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t around.

10) People who own iPhones are twice as likely to sext as people who use Androids.

Trying to come up with an explanation for this. Nothing straightforward comes to mind. Socio-economic status? Camera quality?

These light sociology/behavior books are never great. There is usually way too much common sense. The best parts of the book, outside of the dive into Tokyo and BA, were Aziz’s comments on his own love life. Of course I googled ‘Aziz Ansari girlfriend’ afterwards. And of course, they’ve broken up. Modern Romance.

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