Just how do you go about finding the love of your life in the 21st century? How had technology shaped dating and romance, and is it all really for the better? This book, a collaboration between comedian Aziz Ansari and social scientist Eric Klinenberg, explores the world of modern relationships.

A lot of what’s covered in Modern Romance applies to other areas of modern life. Text messaging is damaging our ability to conduct spontaneous conversations, people don’t want to speak on the phone and we’d much rather do everything over the internet, thanks very much.

The books has plenty of statistics and looks at how dating has changed, just over a few generations. We no longer marry the boy next door, or the just good enough partner, instead we’re searching for a soul mate and over a much wider geographical area. Much of this has been thanks to the rise of the internet and mobile technology.

The section on romance in Japan was the most interesting. Birth rates have dropped significantly in recent years and the government is worried that the Japanese race will die out, or at least they’ll have an elderly population with no one to look after them. Younger Japanese generations are just not interested in dating or sex any more. The book briefly looks at some of the cultural reasons behind this as well as what the government is doing to help. I could probably read a whole book on this.

Finding someone today is probably more complicated and stressful than it was for previous generations – but you’re also more likely to end up with someone you are really excited about.

There’s a fair bit of padding and repetition of points, but I imagine if you were reading this in snippets, this wouldn’t be much of a problem. The cover states that it’s hilarious but I’d say it’s mildly amusing, with much of Aziz’s personality coming through, especially in his mission to feed his tum tum wherever he may be researching.

I reckon if you’re internet dating at the moment, you should definitely read this, if only to make you aware of your own behaviour, but also maybe why other people are doing the things they do. It’s also a bit of an eye-opener for anyone who’s been out of the dating scene for a while, it’s not pretty out there. I can’t imagine having to rely on something like Tinder to find a date and feel very fortunate to have found my soul mate having read this.

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Book Source: Purchased