Dating today is more complex than it has ever been. For Gen Z’ers and millennials, we are caught tightroping between the traditional courting process our parents had and furiously swiping right to find an ideal contender.
We also find ourselves conflicted with the polarization of evolving societal norms and the traditional customs of past generations. Societal beliefs about gender roles, monogamy, financial independence, educational standards, lifespan development, commitment, communication, divorce, love, health, and success have expanded and diversified exponentially in the past century.
The awareness and tolerance of these differing beliefs in one another has also risen, which amassed progression and newfound connectedness as a society. We no longer have to wait for our parents to arrange our marriages in exchange for cows, chickens, and financial security as we did a century ago.
This positive shift creates a new paradox: the paradox of choice. (The paradox of choice is having many options to choose from- which, rather than making people happy and ensuring they get what they want, can cause them stress and problematize decision-making.)
With all of this in mind, I watched many modern day relationship documentaries and here are the ones I found most realistic and useful.
There’s a mix of everything in these; the desire for authentic love, hookup culture, causal sex, online dating… The most important part of all of this is to learn what feels best and most comfortable for you and to honor that. Learning about relationships is the first step to empowering ourselves to make informed choices. And ironically, in this case, bring awareness to the fact that there is no right or wrong choice when it comes to doing relationships. It’s a confusing time for relationships but it’s also the most authentic.
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