Modern Romance

　　因為「已讀不回」而啃禿所有指甲，約會時女友Line響不停讓人崩潰，抽查愛人手機是道德的嗎？當代所面臨的愛情挑戰與焦慮，絕對是人類歷史上絕無僅有的高峰──如果時空倒轉兩個世代，有三分之一的男女早在20出頭就嫁娶住宅附近的居民，彼此父母都滿意約莫就可進入決選名單，25歲以上就要過熟拉警報──這些看來多麼像歷史劇情節啊。

　　因為科技的發展，尤其是網路與智慧型手機，不僅加速文化的變革也大幅改變我們對愛與婚姻的想像。對於「另一半」的期待早已不僅止於安穩溫飽與傳宗接代，還希望他們是靈魂伴侶與火熱情人。到底這樣的改變是怎麼發生的？我們共同的戀愛煩惱是什麼? 為什麼當選擇的對象幅寬大漲，選擇的自由權史上最高，找到真愛的難度卻不減反增？這個時代究竟如何尋找、怎麼追求夢想另一半？

　　才華洋溢的Aziz Ansari就像所有最頂尖脫口秀表演者，對當代人類處境有敏銳觀察力，並能聰明絕頂又幽默破表地直指要害。他邀請知名社會科學教授，因《獨居時代Going Solo》而躍升為暢銷作家的艾瑞克．克林南柏格共同主持計畫，與數百位遍居不同地域的受訪者深入對談，包括美國、巴黎、東京、阿根廷、杜哈(阿拉伯國家卡達的首都)，並特約知名網路交友平台合作交換資料，為讀者深入分析並描繪出屬於我們世代的戀愛地景。

　　At some point, every one of us embarks on a journey to find love. We meet people, date, get into and out of relationships, all with the hope of finding someone with whom we share a deep connection. This seems standard now, but it’s wildly different from what people did even just decades ago. Single people today have more romantic options than at any point in human history. With technology, our abilities to connect with and sort through these options are staggering. So why are so many people frustrated?

　　Some of our problems are unique to our time. “Why did this guy just text me an emoji of a pizza?” “Should I go out with this girl even though she listed Combos as one of her favorite snack foods? Combos?!” “My girlfriend just got a message from some dude named Nathan. Who’s Nathan? Did he just send her a photo of his penis? Should I check just to be sure?”

　　But the transformation of our romantic lives can’t be explained by technology alone. In a short period of time, the whole culture of finding love has changed dramatically. A few decades ago, people would find a decent person who lived in their neighborhood. Their families would meet and, after deciding neither party seemed like a murderer, they would get married and soon have a kid, all by the time they were twenty-four. Today, people marry later than ever and spend years of their lives on a quest to find the perfect person, a soul mate.

　　For years, Aziz Ansari has been aiming his comic insight at modern romance, but for Modern Romance, the book, he decided he needed to take things to another level. He teamed up with NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg and designed a massive research project, including hundreds of interviews and focus groups conducted everywhere from Tokyo to Buenos Aires to Wichita. They analyzed behavioral data and surveys and created their own online research forum on Reddit, which drew thousands of messages. They enlisted the world’s leading social scientists, including Andrew Cherlin, Eli Finkel, Helen Fisher, Sheena Iyengar, Barry Schwartz, Sherry Turkle, and Robb Willer. The result is unlike any social science or humor book we’ve seen before.

　　In Modern Romance, Ansari combines his irreverent humor with cutting-edge social science to give us an unforgettable tour of our new romantic world.

作者簡介

　　Aziz Ansari is a writer, stand-up comedian, and actor. He currently stars in, writes, and directs his own original series for Netflix. At the time of publication, he was unable to decide on a title for his series. In 2014, Ansari became the seventh comedian ever to sell out Madison Square Garden in New York. His two sold-out performances at the legendary arena were filmed for his fourth comedy special, "Aziz Ansari: Live at Madison Square Garden," which was released in March of 2015 on Netflix. For seven seasons, he starred as Tom Haverford on the beloved NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation with Amy Poehler and other great people. He has also appeared in several films including This Is the End, Funny People, and 30 Minutes or Less. He enjoys eating fresh pasta and watching multiple hours of critically acclaimed television dramas in one sitting.

　　Eric Klinenberg is a professor of sociology at NYU. He's the author of Going Solo (Penguin Press) and has contributed to The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and This American Life.