We live in an individualistic society, a world with the mentality of “me, myself, and I.” As a consequence of this mentality, people rarely take the time to form meaningful connections with others. Love has been put on a shelf as if it’s just something to buy and sell. Love has been devalued to simply a transactional exchange.
This is seen on a microscale with how people in our school treat their relationships, easily thrown away and replaced. Of course, not everyone treats their relationships as such. Some people very clearly care a lot about their relationships, and some don’t, and treat it as an accessory. I believe that a part of this is due to how society warps the perception of love, and how it capitalizes and profits off it while simultaneously belittling the concept of it.
When thinking about love, most think about the sweeping grand gestures in movies and stories, but rarely are those romances realistic. This sets a standard from early on that if your love life is not social media worthy or straight out of a Hollywood script, it’s less valuable.
When we are constantly bombarded with these standards for love, it creates a false ideal, one that is most of the time unattainable. This makes people who don’t live up to those expectations feel unfulfilled and like they are falling short. Another way devaluation affects love is by devaluing any love that isn’t romantic. Love is not always romance; it can be platonic and familial. Platonic and familial relationships can even mean more than romantic relationships, but oftentimes they aren’t valued as much as romantic relationships. Think of the monetary value of things too, this is where we get into the commercialization factor.
Everything about love has been advertised with a price tag, from Valentine’s Day gifts to an engagement ring. Companies capitalize on everything they know will make a profit. Commercialization makes things largely accessible if you can pay. On the other hand, it also makes it hard to think of love in any way without thinking of the price tag associated with it. More often than not, It makes love feel cheap.
The commercialization is limiting as well, as not everyone can afford to make grand overtures to show they care. Love doesn’t have to be loud, appreciating people you care about is great, but not if it’s too expensive to do so.
Love is about connection and support, not about meeting unreachable standards. It’s not a product, not a purchase, it’s something else. Love is defined by the moments you share with people. Even so, love is still subjective to every person’s own experience.
