In today's day and age, we are known as the "hookup" generation, where nobody has the desire to be in a relationship and everyone is looking for something with no strings attached. We no longer want to fall in love, to be in love, or really have anything to do with that concept: love. And it's not a gender-sided phenomenon, men and women everywhere feel this way. But why? What happened to wanting to grow old with someone we loved?
Nowadays, with apps like Tinder and Bumble, it is easier than ever to meet new single people who live nearby, or even far away. But these apps aren't really meant for finding a life long partner, but rather someone to "hookup" with for a short period of time. It's as if we're afraid of dating or having any feelings for another person at all.
But in my opinion, we are afraid of feelings. Nobody is willing to put themselves in a vulnerable place anymore. And why bother when you can mess around avoid the complications that come with being in a relationship? Heartbreak seems to be more important to people than finding that one person they can come home to at the end of every day. It's a lot easier for us to fill that void of a significant other with people we know won't break our hearts. We'll stay with them until the slightest bit of feelings arise, then we'll leave and look for somebody new. We don't want feelings because they make us feel weak and they put us in a position to get hurt. Rather than facing that possibility of rejection or pain, we avoid it completely.
Think about it though. Why would you want to put yourself through a heartbreak? Nobody wants the person they give their all to, to just get up and walk away. And even when we do get into relationships, we've stopped trying to admit the way we feel. No one wants to drop that "I love you" bomb because nobody wants to be that committed to somebody else. When couples get into fights or hit bumps, they just break up instead of admitting how they feel and that they want to hash it out. When we get feelings for someone else, we shut them out instead of admitting how we feel. When we want someone we've lost to come back into our lives, we ignore it and try to move on. It's a cycle that everyone seems to fall into because it's simply the easier option.
From a generation that married and grew old with their high school sweetheart, we've become a generation of hookups and low marriage rates. We've lost interest in commitment and letting ourselves stick to one person. Rather than fear love, we're eventually going to have to learn to embrace it. Because let's face it, once you grow to be 30 or 40 years old, you're not going to be wanting to spend your days with multiple people who could care less about you.
