Could a lack of satisfaction with your friends be the reason why you’re desperately searching for a romantic relationship? Though there could be a multitude of reasons, being discontent with your friends and social life can be a leading factor. Studies as of late 2020 from the PsyPost proved that individuals who have a strong desire for romantic relationships tend to put less importance on their platonic relationships and generally aren’t satisfied with their social circumstances. Yet should these romantics feel comfortable accepting these statistics? Being that the individuals who are greatly content with their friends proved to have little desire for a romantic relationship, we should question what as young women we should prioritize.
It’s easy to blame cultural ideologies such as finding a significant other to settle down with for the rest of your life. Or phenomenons such as rom-coms like Never Been Kissed with Drew Barrymore or Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts, that teach us early that being a romantic is rewarding in the end. But in this day and age is that honestly….realistic? Life is never like the movies and though we know people find what they consider to be true love in their lifetimes, why as a society are we pressured to find this connection so early in life? As humans, most of us have daily interactions with those we call friends. So why wouldn’t we prioritize these relationships?
One of the most precious relationships we can have before declaring a soulmate is a best friend. If anything who’s to say that these platonic relationships aren’t soulmates or true love within itself? These are the same people we confide in and talk to on a daily basis, so essentially wouldn’t it make sense that if these sisterly relationships are so fulfilling you wouldn’t feel the strong urge to find that connection in a romantic partner? This by no means is telling you to suppress the urge to have romantic experiences or to be pessimistic about finding love. But is putting less value on friendships always worth it to make room for love? Prematurely at that?