Let’s talk about text, baby

When a teenager, talking about their love life, tells you that they are “just texting”, it’s important to note that this is not a euphemism for a casual relationship.

They are speaking literally, not figuratively, and telling you, in plain terms, that this particular relationship has progressed to the point of using the face-throwing-a-kiss emoji, and perhaps the sending of the occasional nude.

The death of dating is just one of the cultural shifts that psychologist and author Jean M Twenge explores in her latest book, iGen: Why Today’s SuperConnected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy — And Completely Unprepared For

Adulthood. During her research, she discovered that only 56pc of highschool seniors in the US went out on dates in 2015, compared to 85pc of Boomers and Gen Xers. She also noted a decline in sexual activity among what she calls iGen, largely because they are more likely to be sitting alone in their bedroom, staring at the screens of their various devices, than leaving the house to — whisper it — meet people.

It’s hard to wave the flag for dating which, let’s face it, is inherently awkward and sometimes completely soul-destroying, yet it’s worrying that this trend is emerging alongside the rise of virtual sexual encounters and sex robots.

What will relationships look like in 100 years’ time? Will flirtatious eye contact in bars require consent? Will face-to-face become a bizarre fetish that you can only indulge in underground clubs in Berlin? Will skin-on-skin become illegal in three states in America?

The dystopian possibilities make the prospect of eating spaghetti in front of an incurable bore seem utopian by comparison.