Recently, I was perusing on Netflix, bored on a hot Monday night, when I found the movie Switched, starring Noah Centineo. If you have eyes, you will know why I was drawn to this movie (love you Noah). I watched it, expecting it to be another rom-com where Noah is a hard-to-get heart throb who ends up with the main character at the end. This was not what the movie was; instead, it was about a computer nerd who makes a hookup app in which women are giving a picture of a guy and are not allowed to know his name or anything about him, as well as not being allowed to contact the guy afterward. The movie was obviously teaching a lesson about love in this generation, and boy did I hear it loud and clear.
Many of my friends are on Tinder for many reasons: as a joke, "as a joke", or to genuinely try to meet people. While I find myself on the app every once in a while, the whole concept of it ends up draining my confidence before I am on there for five minutes. The whole process ends up being me opening up the app for five minutes, realizing what I am actually doing, and slamming my phone back down angrily; yet, I keep coming back for more.
Why is this? Well, I can tell you why.
We as a generation have become impatient. We can't wait five minutes for anything to happen because anything we could ever want is at the push of a button or the tap of a finger. Why should love be any different? Apps like Tinder and Bumble may have pure intentions in mind, but the immediacy that they provide sometimes brings out the worst in their users, especially on a college campus. We think that we don't want attachment and commitment at a young age. Hooking up with someone new every night is the norm, and using people just seems like the trend. People become addicted to attention, even though that attention doesn't actually bring the happiness that we crave. Instead of feeling fulfilled, we end up feeling drained and empty.
While the entire situation seems hopeless, I still hold onto hope that there are good and genuine people out there who are looking for a strong connection. I am not one to follow the hookup norm; is it a bad thing that I'd rather feel alone than feel used? That is a question that I have to answer every day. It's a question that we all have to answer every day. I encourage anyone who is reading this to pursue something genuine and fulfilling in their life. It's possible and it happens, despite what anyone will tell you about the climbing divorce rate. I just hope that others in my generation will see this and know that hope isn't lost among us. I see you and I acknowledge you, my fellow romantics. Go out and meet new people, but don't let impatience get in the way of something great.
