Asking my mum for relationship advice is hard as I am often met with “I don’t know how to help you, I don’t understand how relationships work today”. It is true, when she was first navigating the dating scene, relationships were much more linear and simplified. First of all, non traditional non hetero-normative relationships weren’t as accepted as they are today (although I guess we can argue that they still aren’t) so there was a lot more pressure to engage with people of the opposite sex (gender was only thought of as binary), secondly, most relationships started with a formal invitation to go on a date, and then either died down or developed. Today’s relationships are much more freestyle, people now meet on dating apps and social media, a physical date often comes after days or weeks of texting during which we construct an image of the other person in our mind which can lead us to disappointment when we finally meet in person.
Another big change is relative to intimacy which is not strictly related to love anymore but is rather something that people seek whether they seek the relationship or not. Labels are also less important as it is easier to receive all the benefits of a relationships without calling it one. I believe that this change comes from the sexual liberation of women, who now tend to conform less to what society tells them to be. The internet and social media also plays a big part into it as it is easier to be connected to someone while effectively dedicating them less time.
