Hookups the new norm over relationships?

As young people get older and move from their teens into their twenties, there is an increasing pressure to find a long-term partner and settle down.

Even if not dating-to-marry, society still tends to favour monogamous relationships over the current climate of hookup culture.

The reality of the situation is that many university students just aren’t ready to settle down for the rest of their lives.

They aren’t looking for the commitment of time and energy that a serious, long-term relationship takes — and there’s nothing wrong with that.

University is a time to discover who you are and what you want in life, and for a lot of people this is a journey they need to go on independently, not with a significant other.

With apps like Tinder and Bumble, it’s easier now than ever to meet up with someone for a one-time hookup or create a friends-with-benefits relationship.

Many university students simply aren’t interested in dating and relationships, they just want the freedom of casual hookups and fulfill their other social needs over time with friends.

Young people are proving that you don’t need a partner to be successful, you can be a whole fulfilled person on your own.

Of course, there is a stigma that comes with hookup culture, people believe that it’s undesirable or unsafe to have multiple sexual partners.

As long as you’re making safe and smart decisions, there is no harm in hookups. With access to birth control, condoms, and STD testing all on campus, there are so many opportunities to make sure that the sex you’re having is as safe as can be.

As far as having multiple partners being an undesirable thing to do, we all have autonomy over our own bodies and can only decide for ourselves what is best.

What someone else chooses to do with their body and who they choose to be with does not affect anyone but themselves. 

Hookup culture is only becoming more and more prominent, especially in university communities, and it is important that students, and young people in general, learn to be respectful and accepting of the decisions of their peers.

Not everyone is ready to settle down into a lifelong relationship in their early twenties and they shouldn’t be expected to do so.