1. Age difference.
Savannah and Cole Labrant
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb0jZAYArQb/
Especially in the situation where the woman is older than the man, the age difference is a controversial trait in relationships. For some reason, people believe that men ALWAYS have to be older than their woman, which is not true. This doesn't have to mean that the woman is a "cougar." If both partners are on the same page regarding their relationship, why make such a big deal if one is older than the other?
As an example, social media influencers, Cole and Savannah Labrant, have a bit of an age difference. Savannah, 25, and Cole, 22, have been married since 2017. The couple received a lot of questions regarding the 3 year age difference and the fact that Savannah had a 3-year-old daughter when they started dating. However, Cole was much more mature for his age and was ready to be a father and a husband to Savannah, making the age difference insignificant.
2. Height difference.
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqt0wS0BJE9/
As a short girl, I have never had to worry about this. However, over the years, I had a lot of friends that were taller than their boyfriends, especially during the awkward, puberty stage. I understand if it is a personal preference to date someone taller than you, but if there is a couple with a height difference, let them be.
Like this example, actress Nicole Kidman is naturally 5'11. With her ex-husband, Tom Cruise, and current husband, Keith Urban, Nicole is a few inches taller, but with heels, she can end up towering over them. Even though she may be taller, she and Keith are ridiculously adorable and their relationship is definitely at the same level.
3. Interracial relationships.
Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiPpSHll9mA/
Interracial relationships are definitely more common than in the past. However, some people seem to have to have a problem with it, even though skin color doesn't make a person any less worthy. A friend of mine is majorly interested in African American men, but she is from a small hick town in Washington, where interracial relationships are not accepted.
"When I tell people I like black guys, everyone gets weirded out and confused because I'm white and that is not common in my town," my friend says. All in all, the color of one's skin does not concern who they love. Some great interracial couples today would be Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, and finally, Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott.
4. Online dating.
https://unsplash.com/photos/hDJT_ERrB-w
Tinder, Bumble, Instagram DM's... it's the new wave of dating and it's super trendy. But, it's also super looked down upon. Whether people are meeting to hook up or for long-term relationships, if online dating is mentioned, people are automatically judgmental about it. Honestly, for this current era of young adults, it is hard to meet people in person.
Most people would love to walk down the street and bump into a handsome stranger and fall in love, but it is not always that simple. So many people meet their significant others through social media and the result is fantastic. Even comparing platonic relationships, so many people meet their roommates or friends online. Even possible employers look you up on the Internet before they decide to "swipe left or right" on you for the position. Just because two people weren't introduced in person, doesn't mean that their relationship will be unsuccessful.
5. Getting married really young.
Alex Centomo and Dan Jensen
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDgjV_l8i-/
Because of social media like Instagram, Pinterest, etc. more and more young couples have even popped up on everyone's feeds and the topic of young marriage seems almost like a trend right now. However, so many couples hate all the assumptions of young marriage. "You're ruining your life," or "How do you know they are the one?" or "You have so much life to live, why tie yourself down?" All these statements are so inconsiderate and more times than not, completely wrong. If young adults can decide to go to college, drink, smoke, go to war, etc. why is it so hard to believe that they may want to make a commitment to their partner?
6. Waiting too long to get married.
Gerard Piqué and Shakira
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqSuopjnxnP/
The complete opposite of the previous scenario would be a couple that has been together for an incredibly long time but has decided to wait to get married. Or even not wanting to get married at all. They believe that the rush isn't necessary or that they don't need a piece of paper to decide whether or not they love each other.
Some people believe that they are wasting time or stuck in their relationship, but for some relationships, marriage is just not in the picture for them. Leave them alone, okay? A wedding is not coming very soon. Accept that.
7. Too much PDA.
Kim Kardashian-West and Kanye West
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsOAqthHTG3/
So many people complain about couples "not looking in love," yet when couples show their affection too much, they also get hated on. Whether it is a full-on make-out session, cuddling, to even the simplest peck, public displays of affection really seem to bother people. The biggest explanation of this has to be that people are uncomfortable with displays of love or romance because they aren't experiencing it. Whether they are single or in a relationship, PDA isn't happening in their lives so they hate on the people it is happening to. Which is just really sad, honestly. Let people be happy and kiss every once and a while, geez.
8. Couples who aren't married, but act like they are.
Alex Terranova and Sierra Furtado
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpLCZcSBX6b/
Moving in together, having a pet together, being together as a married couple... but wait... they aren't? Some couples begin dating and automatically start acting like they have been married for 10 years. For them, that works. Similar to the "Waiting too long to get married" scenario, everything is going well in their relationship, so why rush into things? However, some people are very bitter about the topic of moving in together before marriage. This could be because of religious or moral reasons, but at this point, you must know what I am going to say... It is none of your business and if they are happy, let them be.
9. Being proud of your singleness.
https://unsplash.com/photos/0wgFmW8mUXE
Last, but certainly not least, being content with your singleness. Some people truly are happy without a romantic love in their life. To love yourself and spend time with yourself is sometimes a better type of love. Yet, people just don't want to let them be. With questions about marriage, children, how their "clock is ticking," and the idea of being alone. However, some people just really can not wrap their mind around the possibility that being single is okay. Not everything in life has to revolve around romance.
If you learned anything from this article, it's that your relationship is absolutely NO ONE'S business. Whether you choose to share parts of it or not, overall, their opinions do not matter. Your relationship is in your hands and the ultimate goal is that you and your partner are content with your choices. Everyone else has no say. Remember that.
YouTube Disabled Comments On Any Videos With Kids In Them And Their Creators Are Upset
What new 'rule' will YouTube institute next
Throughout the years, YouTube has changed its rules and conditions to benefit their creators, but in recent years with all of the controversy over ads and demonetization, their creators are feeling more helpless. The newest situation to arise from the media company is that they disabled the ability to comment on any video that has children in them. There are a lot of family vloggers/ channels on YouTube and this has caused a huge uproar in the community.
Youtube's whole point of this action is that "videos of young children doing activities like gymnastics were being targeted by commenters making sexual comments, or inviting the children to talk" (The Verge). No YouTube is saying that they are doing this to keep pedophiles out of the comments of these family videos, but for the rest of the community on that channel, YouTube has destroyed it. This is definitely a good motive, but bad execution kind of situation. From what I have seen a lot of these family channels are really upset about this, not necessarily because of the reasoning, but the fact that they will not be able to interact with their community. Here are just a few examples:
"Dear anyone who may watch our YouTube videos: Youtube has disabled commenting on all videos that may have kids in them due to pedophiles commenting inappropriate things. I'm sorry for the 99.9% of you who aren't pedophiles. Love you guys & thanks always for the support" -Cole LaBrant
"I double dog dare you to go to http://youtube.com/gilroyvlogs and try and comment on one of my videos! **Spoiler** YOU CAN'T Why are my comments disabled @TeamYouTube and how is it other channels, just like mine, still have comments enabled?!?! Like really?" -Chase Gilroy
"YouTube just disabled all of our comments. Including the videos with no kids in them at all, like Christopher's Valentine's Day video to me. I love you guys so much and I am so sad to see all of your sweet messages just gone" -Jessica Ballinger
One of the main ways that YouTuber's interact with their communities is through the comment section on their videos. Now I think it's great that YouTube was trying to make it a safe space, but they went about this in completely the wrong way. Not only has this change affected the family channels, but it is also starting to affect some of the other channels as well. A prime example comes from Colleen Ballinger a.k.a. Miranda Sings:
"Here's the issue. This doesn't just affect family vloggers who are featuring their children doing gymnastics. All of the comments on my vlog channel were just disabled and I am not a family vlogging channel. 90% of my vlogs are just of me. This affects all YouTube creators!" -Colleen Ballinger
This decision has thrown the whole of the YouTube community for a loop, from the creators to the viewers. Youtube has even said that due to the nature of some comments, the videos will not receive ads:
"With regard to the actions that we've taken, even if your video is suitable for advertisers, inappropriate comments could result in your video receiving limited or no ads (yellow icon). Let us know if you have any questions" -TeamYouTube
YouTube has changed a lot over the years, but this might have been one that was a little bit of an overstep. In the end, the original intention was good, but the outcome has been received very poorly. I don't agree with the way YouTube has gone about this, but what do you think?