Smartphones and dating apps allow every one of us to identify, contact and be in a number
of relationships simultaneously while continuing to receive and sort through a never-ending
stream of candidates for friendship, love, or just casual encounters. It turns out that this
abundance and the unbearable lightness of dating have turned the tables: Instead of a
temporary means for finding true companionship, the search process has become an end in
itself.
Being in multiple parallel relationships has generated a new culture of conversation and
ethical norms of what is or isn't allowed, polite or impolite. At the individual level, our set of
expectations and aspirations changes, together with our perception of happiness. This
sometimes causes confusion or conflict between our natural desire for security, love,
monogamy, and partnership vis a vis new concepts of hedonism, flexibility, lack of
commitment, and seeing multiple partners. What we have become accustomed to regarding
consumerism, clothing and brands, is now seeping into the emotional and sexual aspect of
our lives.
