OMG HE JUST TEXTED ME!

I should probably continue my cross-country road trip tale, but alas, I am forced to address a more serious issue right now.

What issue, you might say? Well, it is the single, most effective tool in dating that alleviates the major hurdle faced by men (well, in reality, "guys") to CALL (PHONE, RING, ETC) a woman (girl) to invite her to dinner/date/movies/etc. It is also the most damaging dating tool for women - we are forced to lower our standards because some genius (who probably never had the guts to ask a girl out - and no, instant messaging and chat rooms do not count) decided that our phones needed to also have the ability to text message people! Text messaging! What a concept! Granted, it's great in meetings, movie theaters, bars, when you're in a cab with the girl you're taking home and your ex calls and you need to let her know you can't talk right now, those kinds of situations. Yet, it is NOT good for the plight of the single female, the woman who struggles to keep her standards afloat as she constantly battles the waves of letdown. I don't mean to get all "Carrie Bradshaw" on this subject, but I think it is in keeping with the "stunning, single, female" notion that is currently dominating cinemas nationwide. The previous generations of single females never had to deal with such a blow to their standards as text-messaging has dealt to today's generation. Why? Prior to texting, men had to actually have the nerve to pick up the phone, dial, and vocally ask a woman out. As we know, many men were not necessarily the greatest at accomplishing such task - a la George Constanza from Seinfeld. Yet, it was the "difficult" and "effort" part of a man's dating regime. Now, with texting such an easy and seemingly effortless form of communication, men don't have to sweat the nerve-wracking phone call.... and women, subsequently, now only HOPE for the phone call but are, more than likely, FORCED to SETTLE for the text message. It's better than nothing, right?
WRONG. I don't know why this generation of women allows such a travesty to continue. I mean, some women spend hours getting ready for a date - a process that involves a lot of shaving, plucking and God knows what other types of painful procedures are out there - just to look good for the guy. Guys probably spend, hmm, maybe a half hour (if they decide to shave) getting ready, and I highly doubt they ever go out and get a brand new outfit just for a date.
The end result: the standards of women have been lowered FORCEFULLY by the text-messaging phenomenon, while the dating procedure has become easier than ever before for men. How could we let such a terrible setback for single women happen!?!?
I'd love to examine this further but I have to get ready for my date - he just texted me, looks like we're on!