Love Is Dead According to The New York Times
We can all pretty much agree that the world has gone to shit. Like, in so many ways, really. Too many to list here, for sure. I’m not even going to try. But I am just going to come right out and say that one of the ways that the world is going to shit is that romance is DEAD. Yeah, romance and love and dating and courtship and everything that we all know to be pure magic about this world are over and gone and we can all blame technology but, also, we can thank the New York Times for writing a trend piece about it. Because, does a trend even exist if the Times doesn’t cover it? I mean, the trends the Times reports on certainly don’t seem to exist before the Times writes about them, so who knows?
But so anyway, Alex Williams wrote a piece for the Times called “The End of Courtship?” which expresses concern over the fact that no one ever seems to date anymore, thus leading to a lonely life of reality television and dinner with platonic friends. And, really, dinner with friends? That sounds absolutely terrible.
So, what is to blame for the end of courtship? Well, partially to blame is the show “Girls,” which, sure. But also to blame is the “rise of the ‘hookup culture’ among young people, characterized by spontaneous, commitment-free (and often, alcohol-fueled) romantic flings.” Yes, that’s right. “Hookup culture” and online dating and, of course, “Girls,” have all contributed to such horrible romantic encounters as the following one, experienced by a 25-year-old woman named Lindsay who went to a bar one night and “exchanged flirtatious glances with a bouncer.” Now, I’m not totally sure about this, but that seems to me like the beginning of a lifelong love—a story that can be passed down for generations. I mean, I have to assume Lindsay and her bouncer lived happily ever after, right?
Well, you’ll probably be as surprised as I was to find out that Lindsay’s story did not end with a marriage proposal, which, you know, is totally fine because she’s ONLY 25. But, anyway, what happened next with the bouncer who maybe had a piece of dust in his eye was that he “invited [Lindsay] and her friends back to his apartment for whiskey and boxed macaroni and cheese. When she agreed, he gamely hoisted her over his shoulders, and, she recalled, ‘carried me home, my girlfriends and his bros in tow, where we danced around a tiny apartment to some MGMT and Ratatat remixes.’”
