In " Liquid Love, " Zygmunt Bauman discussed the fragility and vulnerability of romantic relationships . This is clearly evident in the proliferation of apps for meeting new people, apps easily downloadable to your smartphone. It's no coincidence that the professor defined us as " a mass of isolated individuals, a swarm whose features cell phones have helped preserve ."
Between real and virtual
Using chat as a new way of socialization has brought about changes in social interaction, in communication, in seductive ritual: a continuous contamination between real and virtualThis phenomenon is due to three main advantages: saving time, saving space, and emotional savings. Saving time because you can chat at any time; space saving, as it is possible to come into contact with geographically distant people, breaking down spatial limitations; emotional economy, meaning that when an online conversation gets boring, you can easily move on to the next one. The list of apps based on the concept of meeting new people is extensive (ranging from Badoo, Lovoo, Tinder, Meetic, Once, Chat&Flirt, MeetMe, to Twoo), much to the delight of outclassed matchmaking agencies.
Goodbye romance
According to Bauman, relationships perfectly embody the ambivalence between stability and escape, between the anxiety of establishing bonds and the fear of remaining trapped in stable relationships. In our consumerist culture, the idea of romantic-marital love seems decidedly obsolete because it has been replaced by a clear willingness to experience multiple romantic experiences. Another peculiarity that makes apps for lonely hearts (and not) attractive is the fear of rejection, which appears muffled and mediated by the internet, by the lack of eye contact, face-to-face, sugarcoating the pill. Furthermore, there is the option to block or report any unwanted users. No matter how quickly relationships wear out, there are other potential and infinite connections to be exploited. Each relationship may be short-lived, but the abundance of potential contacts is indestructible.
A market of feelings
What are the risks of the advent of chat rooms for meetings? New acquaintances are certainly equated to a material good, that is, the applications produce a sort of market in which users are showcased through images: we are not faced with a commodification of relationshipsAt the same time, there is an emotional loss of the so-called taste of real conquest (over a drink in a club or at a restaurant) replaced by that messaging made of emoticonsThe greatest risk is the loss of real sensations combined with the crisis of the concepts of love and suffering, or rather, the vast possibility of romantic options can mistakenly lead to the belief that we are all easily replaceable, far from "till death do us part". There is a risk of not fully experiencing the birth of a love or the pain of its end. Certainly the technological progress It has allowed us to connect with people we otherwise wouldn't have met, but it also risks creating ephemeral bonds: a vicious cycle of pseudo-sentiments? Through zapping and sentimental shopping, one click is all it takes to get to know each other, meet, date, cheat, make love, break up, and start this relational-seductive journey all over again.
Arianna Caccia
With a degree in Health and Lifestyle Sociology, I have a strong interest in the study and analysis of social phenomena. Always ready to learn and improve, I love reading, writing, Vasco Rossi and Rino Gaetano, and long walks in the countryside.
