I’ve always been a committed, monogamous guy. Ironically, I’m terrified of getting into a relationship because of this serious attitude about love. No matter how intense the first few kisses are or how profound the late-night deep chats are, there is always a lingering question of “how long can this ecstasy last?” Prior to it taking flight, I see the conclusion. Screaming. Lying. Blaming.
They were slitting one other’s throats with insulting slurs. The romantic bubble will always turn into a nightmare. Because we hate more when we love more, most relationships don’t end amicably. I’m beginning to think marriage isn’t the solution after witnessing the folks in my immediate environment who are either miserable singles or unhappy married. This is especially true in 2021.
Because we know a substitute relationship is just a fingertip’s touch away, we have grown intolerant of partners who we don’t like enough or treat us badly. We now have a way out of relationship issues thanks to dating apps. We opt to seek elsewhere because we can, rather than navigating the typical ebbs and flows. Because they increase dating chances, apps like Tinder are a blessing to the dating world.
But marriage is a burden because it allows us to leave sooner rather than sticking it out like our parents did. The average age of marriage in the United States is 27 for women and 29 for men. The number of marriages is at a record low. Leave America out. Even in my own country, China, a family-oriented culture that has existed for thousands of years, traditional values have been eroding during the past ten years.
We are the result of a developed material universe. No longer do children starve like they formerly did. Everyone holds a college diploma. Now, people are more worried about their weekend plans for the Fourth of July than they are about how they will pay their rent the following month. As a result, we are now more independent and individualistic on the outside than ever. We don’t have to band together like our predecessors did to survive.
