https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/fashion/a-millennials-guide-to-kissing.html
- What is revealed about the author?
- How does the writer develop sense of self and their world?
In this article by Emma Court, she recounts moments where she recognizes her generations detachment between what could be considered physically intimate moments and real emotional intimacy. Court was 21 in 2015 and belongs to the millennial generation. Her account of ‘hookup culture’ relates to something that has happened with the idea of love and the ideation of loving. Her attraction to a virtual stranger on a plane through the pre and post events of their kiss reads like a cheesy Top Best Romance book. She then has a situation that juxtaposes the strangers-turned-lovers cliche. The pair of them part ways, literally, and it is revealed the lingering strings from a one-off circumstance. She represents the questioning behind what flirting means and how far it goes, physically and emotionally. Her realistic approach to the situation showed the things a rom-com movie doesn’t. She wouldn’t leave her life as a senior in college in New York for a sophomore in North Carolina just because of the events on a plane. He had settled that by parting ways in a final ‘see you never.’ But in this world by our fingertips, never is a short time. Court found him on Facebook and tapped a simple button that sent her into a turmoil of emotions. Some virtual virtual stranger now had the power to make her question so much. It is a reality in her world, this current one.
The prospect of intimacy has changed. The sense of self-worth in regards to how others deem your worth has become somewhat less important unless they have political power over you. The lack of permanence and ever-changing circumstances create a desire for permanent change. Everything needs to move on quickly and is so easy to do so in this consequence-less reality.
