Valentine’s Day is around the corner and while love seems to be in the air, every day it seems as if more people are partaking in hookup culture than they are in a committed relationship. Participating in hookup culture can be convenient for young, busy college students, but it could also have its repercussions if done for the wrong reasons, with the wrong person, or the wrong way.
Here’s what you need to know, whether you’re single and considering partaking in hookup culture or looking to avoid those who are.
What is hookup culture?
The definition varies depending on who you ask. Essentially, every definition shares the understanding that participation in hookup culture involves being sexual with someone, hooking up, without any commitment and no expectation of there ever being commitment. So, why not just call it casual sex? Why call it a culture? Scholars credit the phenomenon to multiple reasons, one of the main ones being that the age in western countries for settling down continues to progressively be pushed back. It’s no surprise, then, those college students make up a significant percentage of hookup culture participants. For many, it’s liberating. For some, it can become a negative experience. For others, it’s taboo altogether.
The Psychology Behind Hooking Up
Understanding a bit of the psychology behind wanting to hook up could be helpful to determine whether or not it would be healthy for you. Studies show there are four categories of motivations for hooking up: autonomous, controlled, amotivational, and relational. Understanding which category yours/the other person’s falls under could make the best, or not so best, choice more evident.
Autonomous individual: Interested in the possibility of enjoyment, learning about their sexuality, and considers it a positive experience for them.
Controlled Individual: Wants to improve self-esteem, avoid unpleasant feelings, feel obligated to hook up to please someone else, and/or hooks up seeking favor or revenge.
Amotivational individual: Was tricked, coerced, or intoxicated and unable to make a conscious decision for themselves when hooking up.
Relational individual: Hopes the hookup leads to a long-term relationship.
Studies show that if your motive falls under a non-autonomous category, your well-being is likely to take a hit.
As quick and easy as it may seem or be advertised, hookup culture can be quite complex when sexual health, mental health, trust, confidence, effects, and motives are taken into account. It’s certainly a different experience for everyone and no one article could 100% accurately predict what your experience would be like. Although in the heart of it all the last thing you want to do might be to talk, clear communication about expectations, sexual health history, consent, and boundaries can increase the chances of hooking up not being a negative experience for any party involved.
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