Romantic relationships as an essential part of an adult’s life and a certain rite of passage for people transitioning from adolescence to adulthood might seem as quite difficult to theorize, yet there are similarities in behavior patterns of those involved in them. Although the general premise and goals typically remain the same and revolving around building relationships with significant others, social trends and cultural changes affect the way in which young adults perceive decision-making and actions within romantic relationships.
With the introduction of new ideas and changes in gender roles, romantic encounters and their norms bend slightly with every new concept related to the subject matter. Recently, the propensity toward short-term casual encounters and the delay of marriage has occurred, defining young adults’ perceptions of relationships and actions within them as implying a great amount of responsibility.
Over the past few decades, the concept of romantic encounters has changed to an impressive extent. The changes in the subject matter can be traced to the factors that lack in romantics yet represent a significant amount of sensibility. Namely, the rise in the number of challenges related to economic and financial factors that young people have to manage regularly in order to transcend to the adult life and succeed in managing it has been stupendous lately. As a result, romantic relationships become less relevant as learning and career development are prioritized within the modern young adult community (Shimkowski, Punyanunt-Carter, Colwell, & Norman, 2018).
As a result, the perception of romantic relationships has changed from being viewed as lighthearted to acknowledging the economic and financial consequences of marriage (Shimkowski et al., 2018). Consequently, romantic encounters are seen as time-consuming, at best, and emotionally and psychologically devastating, at worst, by a range of people that transition from adolescence to becoming young adults.
In addition to the changes in financial and economic perspectives, the introduction of new forms of media and especially IT and ICT tools has made it possible for young adults to engage in short-term relationships rather than focus on building a single lifelong connection. With the increase in the range of dating options and the increasing need for diverse communication, many young people tend to have multiple romantic encounters prior to selecting the person whom they decide to marry.
The current mindset of young adults regarding their approach to romantic relationships and the related actions, especially more decisive ones such as marriage, might seem as cynical yet, in light of the existing economic and financial uncertainty, these attitudes can be regarded as sensible and responsible. By adopting a more sensible approach toward romantic encounters, young people become capable of making reasonable decisions regarding these relationships (Tillman, Brewster, & Holway, 2019).
Thus, young adults are likely to avoid a plethora of issues that may occur without the needed awareness and ultimately lead to a range of adverse outcomes ranging from divorce to even the possibility of family violence.
Finally, when considering the change in the romantic norms and perceptions as a part of the natural progression from one stage of development to another, one will concede that young people develop the propensity toward stable and more lasting relationships as they get older. A research by Shulman and Connoly (2013) states that the observed phenomenon is a natural shift in the understanding of the concept of romantic encounters and the role that they play in the target audience’s lives.
Specifically, Shulman and Connoly (2013) point out that “With the passage of time, romantic relationships come to entail a unique connection between two partners characterized by increased levels of affiliation and intimacy” (p. 28). Thus, the development of a different perspective regarding romantic relationships can also be attributed to the fact that young adults pass onto a different developmental stage that involves pursuing a deeper emotional connection with their romantic partners.
It would be possible to argue that the evolution of romantic encounters and norms has affected young people’s perceptions of relationships and the issues occurring in the process in a different way, or that no changes in perception have been made at all. Indeed, given the huge sample that needs to be taken in order to prove the statement in question makes further research barely possible. In addition, changes in cultural norms and the relevant behaviors are quite stretchable notions given the differences between the Western culture and the specifics of ethnic minorities’ cultural standards.
Thus, to prove the thesis statement of this essay completely, one has to examine changes in the relationships across the globe. Therefore, claiming that the evolution of norms in the contemporary society has affected the attitudes and actions of young people in connection to their relations with their potential partners may not be quite accurate (Jaramillo-Sierra et al. 1827). The changes within the specified context have been quite uneven, and extrapolating any conclusions form the scarce research that has been done so far on this topic may not be quite reasonable.
However, when approaching the analysis of changes in the perceptions of romantic relationships form the described angle, one will also have to take account of the fact that globalization has led to the cross-cultural dialogue. As a result, critical changes in the perception of relationships, communication, traditions, and the related concerns spread quite rapidly across the globe, being infiltrated even into more conservative communities that prefer to follow the set traditions (Watkins & Beckmeyer, 2020).
Therefore, it is reasonable to talk about the alterations in the perception of romantic encounters and different aspects thereof as a result of the cultural shift in the relevant norms and standards. The changes in young people’s perception of relationships and their actions linked to forming the said relationships and communicating with their partners are undeniably present in contemporary society, which can be attributed to the shift in social norms and the reconsideration of the responsibility that young adults will carry in the said relationships.
Due to the changes in social norms and perceptions of romantic relationships caused by prioritizing economic well-being, the vast majority of young people tend to perceive romantic relationships and actions within them as requiring and extensive amount of responsibility.
As a result, the range of short-term relationships has increased in proportion to long-lasting ones in young adults. The observed trend could have been created by a combination of factors including the lack of financial stability, the fear of responsibility and the tendency toward infantilism in young people, and the related factors. Moreover, the importance of technology in promoting a different perspective on how relationships can be formed and how long they should last needs to be acknowledged. Overall, the present situation seems to be geared toward a more thoughtful approach toward building romantic relationships, which is likely to intensify in the future.
References
Jaramillo-Sierra, Ana L., et al. “Young Women’s Anger in Romantic Relationships: Gendered Rules and Power.” Journal of Family Issues, vol. 38, no. 13, 2017, pp. 1825-1851.
Shulman, Shmuel, and Jennifer Connolly. “The Challenge of Romantic Relationships in Emerging Adulthood.” Emerging Adulthood, vol. 1, no. 1, 2013, pp. 27–39.
Shimkowski, Jenna R., et al. “Perceptions of Divorce, Closeness, Marital Attitudes, Romantic Beliefs, and Religiosity Among Emergent Adults From Divorced and Nondivorced Families.” Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, vol. 59, no. 3, 2017, pp. 222–236.
Tillman, Kathryn Harker, et al. “Sexual and Romantic Relationships in Young Adulthood.” Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 45, no. 1, 2019, pp. 133–153.
Watkins, Nicole K., and Jonathon J. Beckmeyer. “Assessing Young Adults’ Beliefs Regarding the Importance of Romantic Relationships.” Journal of Family Issues, vol. 41, no. 2, 2019, pp. 158–182.