The
media seems to be portraying our generation as one that is much more likely to
have casual “hookups” rather than be in committed relationships. This is true
to some extent, but the media is over exaggerating. The amount of sex that our
generation is having is almost exactly the same as our parents’ generation. We
are not much different in our amount of sexual partners or in our views on sex.
Studies even show that the percentages of college students who have had more
than one sexual partner have dropped since previous generations.
What has changed is the fact that our
generation is less likely to get into a committed relationship with someone as
quickly as before. Many members of our generation seem to find someone they
want to be with for the rest of their lives by having sex with them before they
decide whether they want to commit to anything or not. The age that members of
our generation get married has also changed. The average age that people marry
at has risen higher and higher each generation. Our grandparents’ or great
grandparents’ average age of marriage was 12 to 14, while we have risen that
age to 27-30 years old. Our generation isn’t just “hooking up” just to do it;
this is our generation’s way of testing out a person to see if they will be an
appropriate partner. It is a way of “throwing themselves out there.” Every
relationship has to begin with some type of test to see whether it will stand
up to the test of time anyway. Our generation has just taken that test a step
farther. Years ago the test would begin with asking a girl on a date, which
then over the years evolved into asking someone if they wanted to kiss you or
if you could kiss them, and now it has evolved into asking someone if they want
to “hookup.” This is simply evolution of the generations.
Different
things become the “norm” over time, and today finding a partner begins with a
“hookup”. Romance however, is not dead on the college campus; not everyone in
our generation mindlessly has sex with someone just because they feel like it. It
is simply a new way of finding a partner than earlier years rather than a whole
new era of no strings attached sex.
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