Dating in the modern age has led to a number of awkward, quirky tech-complicated stories.
But no matter how common these have become, new technology-based dating disasters can still catch you by surprise – such as with the case of Philadelphia-based writer Gina Tomaine, whose ex-boyfriend recently turned up at her house to make a strange demand: delete her Venmo account.
Gina wrote about the experience for Women’s Health, saying that her ex showed up at her home a year after their notably acrimonious split.
A tale to tell: Gina Tomaine, a writer living in Philadelphia, has recounted the day her ex appeared on her doorstep to demand she delete her Venmo account
The look: This stock image of a typical Venmo timeline shows how you can see others pay friends for various activities
‘Surprised, I let him in, and asked him what he wanted,’ she wrote.
‘He hesitated and fidgeted with nervous energy, and it took a while for him to even explain what the hell he was doing there.’
The reasons for the surprise arrival, Gina surmised, could be a number of things: a plea for reconciliation, perhaps? Or maybe an explosion of rage that had been simmering since the break-up?
To her shock, neither of these much more likely options could explain just what had prompted him to knock on her door.
‘In a scenario I never saw coming, he instead asked me to delete my Venmo account — or at least make every transaction private,’ she revealed.
Apparently, watching Gina exchange money on the instant-payment app was just too much for him to bear, as it showed him all the fun activities she had been up to since they split.
Out and about: Gina’s ex apparently couldn’t deal with seeing her transactions as it shows ‘I was happy and had moved on’
‘In his head, it wasn’t his responsibility to stop looking at my social media or Venmo, but it was my responsibility to stop posting things publicly that revealed I was happy and had moved on,’ she said.
Gina angrily asked her ex to leave, but the experience made her think about why that particular app had riled him up so much.
Venmo allows others to see where you are spending your money, mainly in a social sense, such as using beer emoji to return money for drinks, or pictures of tickets and short explanations to settle up with friends for events.
The payments are sent to other Venmo users whose names are visible as well, meaning that a snooping ex can spot whether you are sending money to new people in your life you may or may not be involved with.
The vague information, Gina explained, is simply ‘fuel for the fire’ because it invites curious people, such as exes, to fill in the blanks – and imaginations tend to run wild.