We live in a world where our generation is viewed as throwing the word “love” around too easily. I often hear this, see it on the Internet, or have my own parents tell me. In a generation built on helicopter parents and the digital age, how can we not? How can we not love too much, say it too much, or expect too much? Our generation was raised on instant gratification. I once played in a softball league, and I do not think I touched a softball once. I most definitely played with too many dandelions in the outfield. Despite this, at the end of the year, I had a shiny trophy placed on my shelf next to many other trophies I collected over the years. The issue here is that I’m not good at sports, yet I have all these trophies that encourage my effort, participation, and are for just showing up. So my question here is, how can we not expect to have the final outcome—love—be what we deserve when treating someone nice? We live in a world that's taught us that if we do something with energy and a smile on our face, we will receive an award. Whether or not we were good at the activity, we were supported. Now, I’m no love doctor, but it seems that all we are looking for is a reward to support our actions towards our significant other.
Now that I have that covered, let’s get to the real issue: technology. It's the main culprit for enhancing the instant gratification our generation seeks. Whereas 20 years ago to truly get to know someone, it would take time, multiple dates, maybe some phone conversations, or hangouts after school. With our generation, it takes a minute for us to know where someone is, a "like" to show you’re interested, or a Snapchat notification to know that someone likes you. What took months to accomplish in a relationship can be done in a matter of days now. Maybe we fall into lust, or maybe we change falling into a form of love, one that has become so appealing due to the walls so many in our generation put up. This is caused by the wonderful technology our generation has because all of those factors that speed up a relationship can ruin them as well. For example, a loving and caring significant other would be walking in the mall, see a pretty person, and look just for a second. Sure, they think they are attractive, but nothing comes from this. Now your significant other sees an attractive person and likes their picture. This makes you insecure and makes you doubt your relationship. We have a million profiles, numbers, and accounts in the palm of our hand. So yes, maybe our generation says "I love you" too often, but we have so many obstacles to climb. Why wouldn’t we want the person we love to know we crossed the finish line?
