Sometimes I feel like I’m Theodore from the movie “Her”, living in a futuristic world where people fall in love with the voices of their operating systems. There’s one scene where Theodore sets up a camera on his shirt so that he and Samatha (OS1) can experience the same surroundings. It’s all too familiar for me. I’ve been on countless virtual dates (some where I’ve even wished I could finagle a similar camera set-up to Theodore).

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Being in an international long-distance relationship before the pandemic, love was already deeply intertwined with technology for me and my partner. But after the challenges of unforeseen border closings, sometimes it feels like we really might just be voices to each other. There’s a Local Natives lyric I've been thinking about, “she flew across the sea / we talked on a small screen / a cubism dream / the most beautiful squares I’d ever seen”. The most beautiful squares I’d ever seen. Referring to the pixels that make up our screens. And in this case, the pixels that formed the face of the singer’s partner as they made video-calls.

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This sentiment is more relevant to me than ever. In this moment, for many of us, the intersection of love and technology is undeniable. Not only can the digital world connect us to people close and far, it is also exempt from the risks of the virus. Because of this, we’ve all adapted. I’ve seen friends cultivate new romances solely over FaceTime. Are we already in the era of digital love? Was the idea behind “Her” not so far off?

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It’s February. The month of Valentine’s Day. And for better or worse, the holiday begs reflection on personal relationships. This year I’m embracing the fact that technology is my valentine.