Regardless of how you met your present partner, there is a good story behind every relationship. Whether it is in a crowded place, in a party, through mutual friends, or via online dating apps, every great love story starts off with the process called ‘dating’.
The early stages of “seeing someone” is often fun and exciting for many individuals. For starters, they get to go on fun dates and have those intimate getting-to-know-each-other kind of get-togethers. Though this stage of dating can be thrilling, finally meeting the person–with whom you’re meant to be with–can be life-changing.
However, these days, some people tend to deal with these matters in a more complicated perspective–prompting various dating schemes and terms. So, the question remains, how do people define a relationship in the modern era?
Opposing views
According to a comprehensive survey conducted by F. Hinds jewellers,”The Language of Modern Romance – A Study”, 42% of their respondents, ages 18 to 24, believe that being intimate with someone or “getting with someone” (as the study calls it) would still mean being in a relationship with that person.
Additionally, 23% of people aged 65 years old and up says that just by kissing someone, you are indicating a more serious level of commitment to the other person. And yet, those between the ages of 18 to 24 are “least likely” to believe that kissing another person means exclusively dating them, based on the company’s findings.
And when it comes to the “friends with benefits” situation, 9% of women believe it’s just a fling while 11% of men would consider it as a more serious arrangement.
These results only show us that the opposite sexes and the multi-generation gap have caused us to have opposing views when it comes to understanding what constitutes a relationship. The only real solution we have is to take a step back and assess the situation on our own terms.
Are relationships still serious?
Aside from this, people shared different points of view in describing what a serious relationship is for them today.
For some people, it may be confirming their relationship status on social media. But for others, it means deleting their dating app profiles. F. Hinds’s survey confirms that one out of three participants admits to deleting their online dating profiles to confirm exclusivity.
Though not everyone agrees that they’re in a relationship with the person they’ve met online. The survey states that 65% still prefer face-to-face conversations before determining the seriousness of their relationship.
Where does this leave us?
With this, the study suggests that “people prefer to keep their options open at the beginning of a relationship or to have a backup plan ready in case things don’t work out.” And honestly, this seems like good words to live by.
Good luck in the dating world!
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