Letter: Dating apps
In today’s dating culture with dating apps and social media, there is a cultural trend to not commit due to overwhelming potential partners, distorted reality, and unrealistic expectations. Imagine you are at an ice cream shop for the first time and don’t know what to get. There are so many flavors to choose from. You start to taste everything, end up choosing a few favorites, but can’t quite decide which ice cream you want to eat for the rest of your life. Dating in a world with dating apps and social media is just like choosing flavors at an ice cream shop; it is hard to choose a person you want to be with forever, especially when there are so many good choices. Adding factors such as societal pressures to marry, isolation from COVID-19, and fears of choosing wrong create a toxic environment where finding a partner can feel degrading, hopeless, and superficial. This environment eventually results in a society where people — though lonely — don’t want to try at all for fear of being hurt or hurting someone else. There is a solution to this dating epidemic we currently face: become a better person without social media and dating apps. Go join clubs. Get out there and meet new people in-person. Reach out to friends. Attend dating workshops. Practice rejection therapy. The list goes on and on. Being aware that dating apps and social media is a problem and being willing to step out of your comfort zone to be a better person is a good step towards a good dating life.
Ambrose Aggabao, Provo