Does Love Exist Anymore?
Image Courtesy: People
Aristotle infamously explains love as being "composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." He makes it sound so simple, but as with most philosophy, it is complex and confusing when delved into. Aristotle’s ideals manifest in fairy tales, romance literature, and classic rom-coms. In each story, the love between two people is seemingly written in the stars—their souls intertwining as they meet and stare longingly into each other's eyes.
Reality tells a different tale. Love is misconstrued to contain lust and passion. Societal norms have redefined who you can be with and why. Situationships are in, people communicate more through Snapchat than in person, and acts of love have become transactional. In a modern world, do souls intertwine, or has love shifted to have a completely different meaning?
As a child, I believed love conquers all. In the innocent eyes of childhood, love was pure, unbreakable, and infinite, bringing everyone a happy ever after. As many of you could probably relate, I could not wait to grow up and find Prince Charming. I would romanticize having my first kiss or having a wedding in a beautiful ball gown where I began my life with my soulmate.
Eventually, I realized there were no evil witches that a kiss would defeat, but I still believed in love. How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days (2003) and Pride and Prejudice (2005) kept me a hopeless romantic, but Jim and Pam from The Office (2005-12) opened my eyes to a realistic love story.
In the beginning, there was an unspoken love for one another that was grown through inside jokes and quiet moments. Audiences saw them go from best friends to dating to marriage, and all of it was seemingly realistic. I wonder, though, if Jim and Pam's love would come to fruition if it were 2025 when social media and dating apps dictated the relationship world.
Image Courtesy: The Artist Editorial
College has made me question love. I've watched so many friends go through relationships and the newest trend, "situationships," where they say "I love you" and move on within a few months. Telling your partner "I love you" has become very normalized and completely devoid of meaning. The statement of the word "love" lacks permanence without experiencing true vulnerability between two individuals. Shared time together does not equate to someone understanding the inner workings of a person.
While people are not trying to be cynical, a shift has occurred due to our lives being heavily intertwined with a digital world. Instant connection and gratification are the result of social media. You could never meet someone and truly understand or build a bond with them solely based on their posts or social media pages.
Often, instant attachment in relationships can be confused with feelings of love. You meet someone, they check all the boxes, and everything is going well, so you say "I love you." Eventually, you realize a lack of foundation that was skipped past when rushing into the final act of forming a relationship – the “I love you.” Red flags become blinding, and it's over.
Hookup culture has proposed a threat to being in a relationship, not to mention being in love. Social norms have made many feel no desire to be in a relationship when fulfillment can come from noncommital relationships where there is this act of being in a relationship without devotion to one person. Having one foot into the relational dynamic and one foot out leaves the partnership with no ground to stand on.
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Overall, dating in college is difficult when so much is attached to the title. The media teaches us that love is simple and easy when you meet the right person, but when social media enters the equation, society normalizes casualness and lack of commitment.
I believe in love but recognize that real love in a modern era requires more than words—it takes time, vulnerability, and effort to build something meaningful, like finding a needle in a haystack, to truly understand the inner workings of an individual and how they process things. However, it should not deter those who are hopeless romantics like me from finding their forever person in college.
Strike Out,
Writer: Gabi Barroso
Editor: Emily Montarroyos
Tallahassee