Six Degrees.com. Isn't that a great name? It's believed to be the first social media site.

It launched in the late 90s and actually it's still around. Of course, there are a lot more social media platforms now, and we're using them to brag about our pets and what we have for dinner last night and how awesome we are at Wardle.

But what about using social media to make romantic connections?

Hashtag love.

That's what we're talking about on this episode of Dating While Gray, the Grown Up's Guide to Love, Sex, and Relationships.

I'm Laura Stasi.

I get smartphone notifications about my weekly screen time, and I'm usually startled at the

chunk of hours I've spent on social media.

Now, some of it's legit.

Gotta post those updates on the Dating Wall

Grey Facebook page and check in with my siblings on WhatsApp. But then I'm scrolling through

Twitter, which might take me to TikTok, or maybe I'll go to YouTube to watch the Saturday

night live skits I slept through. I'm not the only one. The Pew Research Center found a

significant majority of American adults regularly visit these social media sites and others.

Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, Reddit, next door.

Some of the chatter on next door.

And we're spending about two and a half hours every day on social media. So with all

these people spending all this time, it seemed inevitable that a social media platform would

officially elbow its way into the love business. It happened in 2019. Hello Facebook dating.

So it appears to me, I'm not going to say that it's absolutely exact science, but what I found

is my friends who are married do not have access to the Facebook dating app.

That's Beth.

...