CheekyChicago

Everyone loves the Old Spice Man. Yes, that is his permanent title to the majority of American society. He even has a website exclusively devoted to his hilarious commercials – you know, the ones that have captivated television audiences all over the country?

But then he proposed to another man’s wife. Through an email video.

A gentleman hired the Old Spice Man to record a proposal for his girlfriend in the general format of the well-known commercials. But this gentleman himself was nowhere to be found in the video. The Old Spice Man did say this gentleman’s name in the proposal, but if I was the girlfriend…I would be completely and utterly lost.

Has America stooped so low as to use the internet as a vehicle to something as personal as proposing?

This situation (although the woman said “Yes!”) will, hopefully, not become the norm.  Yes, many of you could claim this to be cool and oh-so-funny – I mean the Old Spice Man is famous, after all!

But where is the personal connection in all of this? Where is the chivalry?

That’s the main problem.  It’s not the technology; it’s the loss of personal connections. Technology might make romance easier, but that’s not an excuse to abandon tradition completely. Social media is taking over the workplace, but it doesn’t have to take over every aspect of our personal lives. Flowers, cards, chocolate, or – dream big – surprising someone in person…they’re all fairly easy tasks. Not as easy as a mouse click, but close enough.

And social media is an important addition to society, a product of my own generation’s innovation. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, YouTube – they all add to the way we go about our daily lives, allowing faster access to the world around us, increasing communication. But there is a time and a place for everything. The appropriate time to check sports scores on Twitter for iPhone? Not during dinner with your girlfriend’s grandparents.

Chivalry is still alive. Somewhere, beneath all of these recent developments, it does exist. We’ve all forgotten that, yes, it might exhaust us, but making an effort isn’t impossible. Women love romance. That wonderful, traditional romance. Even the women that say they don’t…they do. And men enjoy their fair share of love, too. So next time, instead of sending an “I Love You” text or a “Thinking of You” email, send flowers instead.

So, Mr. Old Spice Man, as funny as you may be, the next time you get a request for a proposal or apology or anything of the sort, just remember: you are aiding in the death of chivalry, one video at a time.