By Cheryl Lai-Lim - 24 Oct All is well for the first few minutes as we settle in at a cosy Japanese restaurant nestled in Amoy Street, get the small talk out of the way, and order our main courses. And then: Jack begins recounting his dating life in painstaking detail. As the night proceeds, the list grows longer. I want to scream.
About a month later, I meet Ethan. We can talk about everything under the sun without oversharing, thank you universe. He responds just enough to stay connected, but deliberately avoids firm commitments to plans. He even made reservations at this steakhouse that I mentioned I wanted to try in passing. She pauses. Finding love has never been easy for most, but the road to love in is more complicated than ever. With much of the dating world now taking place online, it seems like the modern dating landscape is constantly evolving with the emergence of unsavoury micro-trends and buzzwords.
Before, you were either in a relationship or friends with benefits. Could this be the reason why people are dating less? Andrea Tan, a certified sex, love and relationship coach, notes that the drop in dating could be due to the significant cultural shift in how we perceive and express romance. The constant exposure to carefully curated images and narratives of romantic relationships on social media has led to increased comparison and, at times, unrealistic expectations about what romance should look like.
The prevalence of dating apps and websites has also undoubtedly changed the way people meet and form romantic connections. These platforms have made it easier to connect with potential partners, but have also introduced new challenges, including an abundance of choice, as well as a lack of authenticity and trust. And authenticity, especially in this era, is a huge factor.
This generation believes that welcoming everything β including aspects that are awkward, weird, and not conventionally discussed in the open for example, personal mental health journeys β about yourself is an intrinsic part of being sincere.
