What's with the XO?

Gone are the days of it being just little girls in pretty pink dresses that scribble things like BFF and XOXO on sidewalks, with colorful chalk and handmade cards.

 

Teenage girls end every conversation with "love ya!"

 

But what does it all mean in this day and age?

 

I have come to realize that in the adult dating world, it has become common for people to sign off on a text with an xxx or an xo, but why? And how well should you know someone before it's considered appropriate?

 

Do we give away X's and O's too freely? 

 

I have felt that flutter of excitement when receiving a note that signed off with a term of endearment, from someone I have gone out with several times. To me, it meant he was thinking of me and would like to give me a hug and a kiss, even though we are not together. Nothing more, nothing less and without expectations.

 

But shouldn't we be better acquainted with each other the first?

 

I don't know about anyone else, but I don't usually hug and kiss total strangers!

 

So, what's with the XO from men that have just met the acquaintance of a woman and reaching out for the first time?

 

Recently, I was introduced to a handsome business man- public speaker at a conference in TO. Polite exchange of words and business cards lead to an XO text. Couldn't he have just said "Nice meeting you"?

 

I may not have grown up in this cyber fast paced world, but in my humble opinion, there is something insincere about this use of the acronym.

 

How can you hug and kiss someone you don't even know?

 

Have we become a society where we speak but don't express true feelings, as we hide behind screens that make it acceptable to be too familiar too fast?

 

 

XO?

Cheryl