The lines defining relationships have grown fainter and fainter. Has the growing disinterest towards long-term relationships become part of our culture, or have they just naturally evolved over time?

“People have lost the romantic essence in their relationships because they think it’s better to hook up with someone instead of having something potentially more special,” said junior Billy Loveman, commenting on the lack of relationships in high school.

“I see relationships as a much stronger bond than just hooking up with someone,” said Loveman.

What seems to be a common thought is that, unlike in the past when men used to ‘court’ women to be in a long-term relationship, the end-goal has changed. This doesn’t mean that dating is gone per say, it’s just different.

Girls’ views on relationships have evolved over time as well. “I feel like a lot of guys want to hookup at first, so if they think that the girl wants more than that, or doesn’t want to hook up yet, they’ll just move on,” said an anonymous junior. The misconception is that nowadays, not every girl wants to be in a relationship, and it’s dated to assume so.

“I think the term ‘dating’ has changed drastically from the past. A lot of relationships start from a hookup, and from there people decide if they want to be exclusive,” said junior Donna Kang.

It’s normal in high school to hook up with people and have no strings attached. “The act of going out on a date is not completely dead,” said Kang, “but I think people love the ‘chase’ more than the real thing. Once they get what they want, it turns out the ‘chase’ was more fun.”

People are afraid of the commitment that comes with a relationship because labels have the tendency to apply unwanted pressure.
Technology also plays a major role in terms of getting to know a crush as well.

“Technology has made dating to get to know someone better’ pretty obsolete,” said junior Andrew Phillips. “Personally, I’d want to get to know the person before asking them out.”

Relationships tend to get a bad rep though, which is interesting when most agree that they probably would like being in one themselves. In terms of ‘getting the girl,’ guys view girls who play harder to get as more attractive as opposed to ‘easy.’

“Frankly, it’s way more attractive when a girl shows she’s confident in my opinion,” said an anonymous senior.

Age also seems to matter more in high school, because there’s a greater difference between the maturity levels of a sophomore versus a senior.
“Looking into the future, I wouldn’t be so quick as to jump out of a relationship because I’m not as scared of the commitment it brings anymore,” said senior Sam Roggekamp.

“Certain people just prefer commitment, and I don’t think that will ever simply go away,” said Phillips.