From ‘sliding into someone’s DM’s’ to swiping right on a dating profile, the digital era has changed how romance blossoms.
There is nothing quite like modern-day romance.
This new avenue into dating has not been ignored by romance writers either.
There are several love stories in fiction that now start through a means of digital communication – whether it be a regular cell phone or an online dating app.
So, how does romance in the digital age work?
This new convention is possible through a concept called ‘cyberintimacy’, or in simpler terms: a relationship formed through technology.
A study published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc reported that approximately one-fifth of relationships start online, as it is the easier way to approach a romantic interest compared to in-person.
Social media, as you might have already guessed, has propelled this digital age of romance further.
With just a few clicks, it can be easy to meet a new person in a matter of seconds.
It has become the new and preferred way of making a romantic connection, especially among teenagers according to a study by the Pew Research Center.
Half of the teenages in the study expressed a romantic interest in someone through using social media, with 47% of them using likes and comments to do so.
Emerging technology continues to influence the way we approach relationships, and this opens up a whole new avenue of imagination for readers and writers alike.
It can be nice to have an unconventional love story, to meet in the most unique of ways.
Here’s BLOT’s book recommendations where the love interests would never have met if not for the digital age:
From ‘sliding into someone’s DM’s’ to swiping right on a dating profile, the digital era has changed how romance blossoms.
There is nothing quite like modern-day romance.
This new avenue into dating has not been ignored by romance writers either.
There are several love stories in fiction that now start through a means of digital communication – whether it be a regular cell phone or an online dating app.
So, how does romance in the digital age work?
This new convention is possible through a concept called ‘cyberintimacy’, or in simpler terms: a relationship formed through technology.
A study published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc reported that approximately one-fifth of relationships start online, as it is the easier way to approach a romantic interest compared to in-person.
Social media, as you might have already guessed, has propelled this digital age of romance further.
With just a few clicks, it can be easy to meet a new person in a matter of seconds.
It has become the new and preferred way of making a romantic connection, especially among teenagers according to a study by the Pew Research Center.
Half of the teenages in the study expressed a romantic interest in someone through using social media, with 47% of them using likes and comments to do so.
Emerging technology continues to influence the way we approach relationships, and this opens up a whole new avenue of imagination for readers and writers alike.
It can be nice to have an unconventional love story, to meet in the most unique of ways.
Here’s BLOT’s book recommendations where the love interests would never have met if not for the digital age:
1. I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart.
Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill, but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen.
As she paces shakily around the lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can.
Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!
Well, perfect except that the phone’s owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn’t agree. He wants his phone back and doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his personal life.
What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other’s lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls, and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents, she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.
1. I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart.
Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill, but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen.
As she paces shakily around the lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can.
Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!
Well, perfect except that the phone’s owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn’t agree. He wants his phone back and doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his personal life.
What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other’s lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls, and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents, she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.
2. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
“Hi, I’m the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you…”
Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows – it’s company policy). But they can’t quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.
Meanwhile, Lincoln O’Neill can’t believe his new job is reading other people’s e-mail. When he applied to be “internet security officer,” he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers—not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.
When Lincoln comes across Beth’s and Jennifer’s messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can’t help being entertained—and captivated—by their stories.
By the time Lincoln realizes he’s falling for Beth, it’s way too late to introduce himself.
3. Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical.
But when an e-mail falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight.
Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business.
Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.
With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated.
Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.
3. Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical.
But when an e-mail falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight.
Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business.
Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.
With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated.
Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.
4. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Will Grayson meets Will Grayson. One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers are about to cross paths.
From that moment on, their world will collide and lives intertwine.
It’s not that far from Evanston to Naperville, but Chicago suburbanites Will Grayson and Will Grayson might as well live on different planets.
When fate delivers them both to the same surprising crossroads, the Will Graysons find their lives overlapping and hurtling in new and unexpected directions.
With a push from friends new and old – including the massive, and massively fabulous, Tiny Cooper, offensive lineman and musical theater auteur extraordinaire – Will and Will begin building toward respective romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most awesome high school musical.
5. Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros
Abigail Donovan has a lot of stuff she should be doing. Namely writing her next novel. A bestselling author who is still recovering from a near Pulitzer Prize win and the heady success that follows Oprah’s stamp of approval, she is stuck at Chapter Five and losing confidence daily. But when her publicist signs her up for a Twitter account, she’s intrigued. What’s all the fuss?
Taken under the wing of one of her Twitter followers, “MarkBaynard”, a quick witted, quick-typing professor on sabbatical, Abby finds it easy to put words out into the world 140 characters at a time. And once she gets a handle on tweets, retweets, direct messages, hashtags, and trends, she starts to feel unblocked in writing and in life. After all, why should she be spending hours in her apartment staring at her TweetDeck and fretting about her stalled career when Mark is out there traveling the world and living?
Or is he?
Told almost entirely in tweets and DMs, Goodnight Tweetheart is a truly modern take on a classic tale of love and loss, a Griffin and Sabine for the Twitter generation.
5. Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros
Abigail Donovan has a lot of stuff she should be doing. Namely writing her next novel. A bestselling author who is still recovering from a near Pulitzer Prize win and the heady success that follows Oprah’s stamp of approval, she is stuck at Chapter Five and losing confidence daily. But when her publicist signs her up for a Twitter account, she’s intrigued. What’s all the fuss?
Taken under the wing of one of her Twitter followers, “MarkBaynard”, a quick witted, quick-typing professor on sabbatical, Abby finds it easy to put words out into the world 140 characters at a time. And once she gets a handle on tweets, retweets, direct messages, hashtags, and trends, she starts to feel unblocked in writing and in life. After all, why should she be spending hours in her apartment staring at her TweetDeck and fretting about her stalled career when Mark is out there traveling the world and living?
Or is he?
Told almost entirely in tweets and DMs, Goodnight Tweetheart is a truly modern take on a classic tale of love and loss, a Griffin and Sabine for the Twitter generation.
If you liked this post then read Five books to read when you’re feeling spicy or Toxic tropes: Should bad boys be banned? next.
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Shruthi Selvarajan
shruthi.blotmag@gmail.com
Shruthi is a journalism student with a passion for reading, travel, food and music. She likes to spend her free time at Waterstones or journalling whenever she can. She’s passionate about human connection and relationships in books, so that we can learn to better ourselves and how we communicate with others.
Favourite genre: Contemporary romance.
Shruthi Selvarajan
shruthi.blotmag@gmail.com
Shruthi is a journalism student with a passion for reading, travel, food and music. She likes to spend her free time at Waterstones or journalling whenever she can. She’s passionate about human connection and relationships in books, so that we can learn to better ourselves and how we communicate with others.
Favourite genre: Contemporary romance.