What happened to the mixtapes? What happened to expressing ourselves to someone through poetry and letters? Or even basic communication and truly getting to know someone? In a generation of talking stages and casual relationships, I often wonder where the openness toward love and romantic gestures of the past went.

As the first generation with social media consuming our developmental stages, deeper connections are harder to come by. We live in the era of asking a friend for someone’s Snapchat instead of introducing ourselves and asking for someone’s number, in an era where it’s hard to get to know someone and create a genuine connection because our first instinct is to do it over the phone.

Although this may be a slight hyperbole, it’s hard to make a meaningful connection with someone and then keep that connection. When was the last time one of your friends told you about a romantic gesture someone made for them? Do you even know your friends and family’s love languages?

We’ve strayed away from prioritizing these things, and in turn, they have shifted to being criticized. Basic intimate affection like holding hands, cheesy promposals and even creative Valentine’s Day surprises are seen as cringey. Is romance dead, or is it being suppressed by the judgemental constraints of the teenage mind?

What needs to be taken away from this is that it’s okay to love loudly, and it’s okay to want to be loved loudly. Caring about people is okay and so is showing that you care. In a world where so many futures are becoming more and more uncertain, our relationships with each other are important to build up. Having people in your corner that you can count on will never be a bad thing, and it’s okay to show that you care about those people.