Is 2016 The Year Love Died?

Now, we can all agree that 2016 has not been the best year. Of course, this does not apply to everyone - I know plenty of people that had a fantastic year! Unfortunately, this year as a whole though really didn't meet everyone's expectations. The Presidential Election, Harambe being killed, shootings in Orlando, the death of Christina Grimmie, and finally the many deaths of well known and loved celebrities are just some of the things that made 2016 awful. Can we conclude that 2016 is the year that love died?

Personally, I got out of a long relationship this year. What once was a wonderful and healthy relationship turned toxic and we fell out of love. Being a single 19 year old female is really hard these days. I am a hopeless romantic and I invest wholeheartedly in a person I want to devote myself to. It seems, though, that 2016 had different plans for love. Too many people just want to have sex or not commit to one person. They don't believe in settling down. A friend of mine had recently said to me, "I think I should have been born in the old days when people were sweet and weren't scared of being loved or loving someone. I want to be able to brag one day that we've been married for 65 years." Where have those people gone?

I know they are still out there. There are plenty of people looking for love. In this current day and age though, people are more concerned with not having a label or keeping things on the DL. Not many people these days, especially in my age range, find pleasure in simple date nights or romantic gestures. As girls we grew up watching sappy romance movies where the boy gets the girl and they live happily ever after. We fell in love with the Prince Charming who did everything and anything to have the girl of his dreams. Nonetheless, we feel as if that's how we should be treated.

It is very common for us girls to be let down. We can begin to like a boy or girl who seems to be a very good match for us and get disappointed when it does not work out. Thanks to social media, trust issues has become a major issue. Everyone is entitled to their privacy, but if you are entertaining others and hiding it from your significant other, you're the worst kind of person. Men and women are both guilty of doing it, so not one type of person is to blame. More people care about the chase, yet give up once they've gotten what they wanted.

And then there are "dating apps," and I use that term very loosely. If you are in college and are on these dating apps, the majority of the time it's to find a one night stand or a friend with benefits. There are very few people actually looking for love on there. You can be fed lies and be deceived so easily online talking to people you have never met. But there have been cases where it has worked out for people I know. It personally has never worked for me.

Finding someone to be with in high school is so much easier than it is in college or in the real world in general. I myself had been in a high school relationship for three years so this is a huge difference for me to find someone that I want to invest my time and feelings in. It is a lot more effort - it's ridiculous.

So with the combination of people who do not want to settle down, that social media plays an important role in trust, and that us girls have been spoiled by 2000 romance movies, love is hard to find. The iconic celebrity duos that we thought would be together forever split in 2016. It felt like there was no hope. So was 2016 the year that love died? I wouldn't take it that far. Is it definitely a lot more tough to find compared to years prior? I sure believe it is. Just like the 100 layers of makeup challenges, furry nails, and dumb dances that should have never happened, lets hope this trend doesn't continue into 2016.