𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗬: "Love Unplugged: The Progression of Romance in the Digital Age" by Althea Rosseine Bombasi

 

Published by: Akira Joy Gabion

Date Published: August 25, 2023

Time Published: 10:45 AM

Category: Prose

Amid the pandemic, most teenagers grew fonder of social media. Some met their friends, while others found lovers through apps—an experience they refer to as "𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦."

As a self-proclaimed love expert, I believed I thought I knew what love was. However, experiencing “internet love” in this generation changed my perspective. People pointed out that love is essential relishing the way it binds us all together. However, certain individuals claimed that love is cruel. Honestly speaking, love is simply a feeling. Love is an emotion we can feel just like rage and joy. It also has both positive and terrible aspects—able to bring you pleasure and bliss, and also stress and jealousy.

Today, love is not accidentally bumping into someone like what they portray in movies. It became accidentally adding someone on Facebook that soon changed your life. Internet love forms a way of escapism for people who don’t want to date someone from their school—because honestly, how would you feel if you always see them casually walking in the hallways and you just ghosted them last night? Awkward, right? 

Loving someone from the internet is also a great way for a long-lasting relationship as it is suited to both romantic and platonic relations. By using the internet, you can quickly get an image of their personality and perspectives. The negative side is that the more time you spent with them, the more likely you are to develop an unrealistic trait from your partner that you still haven’t met. This trait can be very different and may not match what they have outside of online conversations.

Speaking from personal experience, love has a wide range of surprises. It's gratifying to go from a straightforward "I miss you" text to an emotional "I love you" in a matter of minutes. Loving someone on the internet is embarrassing but cute at the same time. It doesn’t make love less genuine as love can be experienced even if your partner lives within a long distance from you.

Internet love is effective and fine but surely it can be dangerous as people can pretend to be someone else and hide their identity. Because of this, you should be cautious about who you chat with online and never allow them to invade your privacy.