Does Skyping Count as a Date?

What a great question for dating in the 21st century. I remember watching futuristic movies like “Blade Runner,” “Total Recall” and “The Fifth Element” and thinking that video phone calls would never happen (or at least wouldn’t be accessible) in my lifetime.

At age 31, I use Skype and iChat regularly for work interviews and to keep in touch with friends and family. But dating via video phone is another story.

Can two people spend time together via the Internet and it be considered a date? Sure, why not? But it has to be under the right circumstances, of course.

If you want a successful Skype date, then you need to prepare for it. Schedule a time with your girl to meet online and pick a theme. Say you choose eating Chinese food and playing War or another simple, interactive card game. This will give you instant conversation (i.e. “I ordered lo mein, what did you get?”), and you can even lean in to kiss the screen or “lie in bed together.”

Just make sure you and your girl come up with some creative ways to date via video phone, and although it will be awkward at first, try to take it seriously like a real, in-person date.