Are you friends? Or are you in a committed relationship? How do you know? This appears to be one of the most common dilemmas in 21st century relationships. The internet is filled with “influencers” trying to help people navigate this strange new sea called “online dating,” in which many “fish” do not necessarily guarantee a great “catch.”
Today, resistance to defining the “status” of a relationship abounds among those dealing with online dating apps, fast-paced, ambivalent social media, time constraints, and the realities of an unstable future. Particularly for Gen Z, existing in that murky place between casual and committed has felt like a comfortable answer to the complexities of forging a permanent, challenging, possibly inhibiting relationship.[1] For others, lack of commitment arises o…