UHM students Taylor, Ama, and Shiloh are interviewed about their thoughts on dating apps.
Lauren Kang, a features writer at Ka Leo, asks a bold question to Ike who is on online dating apps. He shares a past encounter he recalls went poorly.
Sahana, a student on campus, reveals her experiences with the world of online dating.
Aubrey and Nick share their opinions on the current state of dating and relationships for college kids as a couple themselves.
Kang, now the one being interviewed, confesses that she also uses dating apps.
UHM students Taylor, Ama, and Shiloh are interviewed about their thoughts on dating apps.
We’ve all heard the saying “Chivalry is dead,” but is romance? In our current world of instant gratification and temptations available a few clicks away, the number of successful relationships in our generation has seemingly been on a steep and steady decline. Whether it be from fear of rejection, societal pressures, or even personal peace, romantic relationships don’t seem to have the same importance to us as they once had.
High school sweethearts, love at first sight, enemies to lovers, all the typical tropes we used to hear about seem to be far and few in between. Where did our need for connection go?
University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa (UHM) students shared what their dating lives are like, and the impacts socials and dating apps have on them – and their answers were simpler than we expected.
Lauren Kang, a features writer at Ka Leo, asks a bold question to Ike who is on online dating apps. He shares a past encounter he recalls went poorly.
Students on campus who agreed to an interview revealed that dating apps aren’t as helpful to our generation as intended to be. The majority of interviewees yearn for organic meaningful connections.
The view on these apps have shifted from being helpful and effective to “Nonsense… and ruining real intimacy,” “ I think there’s a lot of comparisons … with social media there’s an expectation.” Kaʻaleʻa Stevens-Alameda, a junior at UHM, said.
Another student, third year nursing major Maya Ball, shared her opinion about the possible effects these apps have on relationships.
“Social media enforces unrealistic standards for what relationships are meant to look like,” Ball said.
Sahana, a student on campus, reveals her experiences with the world of online dating.
For a lucky few, dating apps can be used for their true intentions and bring people who would not have had the opportunity to meet in other ways together. Sahana, a UHM student who didn’t share her last name, shared her personal success on Hinge.
“He put a picture of him and his dog and it really got me,” Sahana said.
When you think about it, the concept of dating apps makes sense. Creating an algorithm with single people in your area that potentially share the same values as you creates a common ground to get comfortable with someone new. It seems simple, but as we’ve learned, it is not as easy as it seems.
Most, if not all of us, grew up surrounded by the looming influence of social media in every aspect of our lives. In simple terms, we care too much about what other people think.
Aubrey and Nick share their opinions on the current state of dating and relationships for college kids as a couple themselves.
Still, it’s not black-and-white. Aubrey Maher and Nick Sforzini, a couple we interviewed on campus, worked together at MOSA! Ice Cream when they both started to catch feelings for each other.
“I just said screw it, I’m going to tell her and no matter what happens, it’s whatever. And it worked out,” Sforzini said. “I think a lot of people hang on to these emotions, I’m speaking from experience…I know a lot of people are afraid of rejection.”
Kang, now the one being interviewed, confesses that she also uses dating apps.
Overall, stepping into the romantic scene takes some mental reframing and adjustment. Whether you want your dramatic meet-cute or want to start online first, your heart pounding when you’re nervous is the universe applauding you for stepping outside of your comfort zone. Don’t take things too seriously, college is temporary and is arguably the best time to explore your limits.
So, is romance dead? Students still carry hope that it’s not, whether in-person or online. It’s in all of us and everything we do. We are all just waiting for someone to show us first.
The student newspaper of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Published since 1922. The voice of Hawaiʻi.
2445 Campus Rd. Hemenway Hall 107
Honolulu, HI 96822
808-956-7043
info@kaleo.org
0 comments