Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, and that means a lot of teens (and even tweens) are thinking about relationships. They’re no longer at the age when every kid gets Valentines from every other child in their class; instead they send and receive a few candy grams and occasionally devise special surprises for their crushes or their boyfriends and girlfriends. While that sounds simple, it’s actually very complicated.
Social media and technology have changed the way guys and girls get involved. They’re far more likely than in the past to find themselves in long-distance relationships with friends they’ve met online or people they’ve met on vacation. Social media can also be a catalyst or a killer for relationships. Before they start hanging out in person, they find each other on Facebook and do a little online “stalking.†Another shift is that while Xers will tell you that relationships don’t start from one-night stands, Millennials have quite a different opinion. Hints of these new attitudes towards relationships are showing up in popular media…
Life is rarely like the movies, but several of Ypulse’s Youth Advisory Board members have told us that “Friends With Benefits†is a good representation of Millennial relationships. They believe that relationships can develop from friendships and from one night stands, and that can obviously make things a little complicated from the start. Millennials believe in trying things out before settling on a decision. They do it making purchases, and they do it in relationships. They thoroughly “check out” their potential mates online before committing to dating.
In the movie “Like Crazy,†we see how technology can draw long distance couples together and at the same time drive them apart. Cell phones and computer connections mean that Millennials are available 24/7 — if they want to be. They can just as easily ignore a call or text as they can answer it. While texting may seem like an impersonal relationship tool, Millennials don’t think of it that way. Text messages — like voicemails years ago — can be saved and reread to relive the romantic moments in their relationships.
Millennials want to believe their relationships are as unique as they are. It’s not enough to simply send a Valentine or ask that special someone to the big dance. It has to be creative and original. While that puts a lot of pressure on guys and girls, they enjoy the challenges and rewards of impressing their significant others.
With all of these complicated relationships Millennials are experiencing — and we haven’t even commented on the added effects of peer pressure —  it makes perfect sense that Adele’s “21†would earn Album of the Year accolades from Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Grammys, and from young music fans. The songs explore the singer’s own complicated relationships, and it has been the soundtrack for Millennials’ ups and downs in love.
