For years now we have been dependent on the media for entertainment and information as we are constantly bombarded with media and news from around the globe.
It is through what we watch that we form an opinion, and it is no surprise we do so with our relationships as well.
Childhood friends turned to lovers, possessive and dominating partners being considered attractive and so many more wherein the relationship is based on various toxic traits that are glorified.
The media does romanticise and showcase relationships, love, and romance in a light that makes people believe and look for qualities in their partner which do not exist in the real world.
It is through the media that people are convinced that there will be a Prince Charming who will arrive riding his horse to make them his princess or a dominant businessman who will fall for a submissive employee as dreamy as this sounds it is not possible for these concepts to take place.
It’s not that I am against love, but it’s just the concepts of these love stories that make me cringe.
In our day and age, it is important that we stop reading to the upcoming generation the same old fairy tales wherein they have engraved in their head that there is someone who will come and sweep them off their feet.
The ideas are being repeated time and again two people fall in love, there is a villain ready to separate them but in the end, they end up together while we love watching this on-screen and it does get us all giddy and happy; there is also a reality wherein relationships are not as easy as mac and cheese.
It’s about contributing, sharing, helping, and understanding for a healthy relationship to work. The media rarely portrays movies that talk about actual issues and relationships which don’t always have a happy ending, and what amazes me is the fact that people still prefer watching movies that don’t preach about love but about a toxic relationship which can be very harmful.
We have grown up thinking and believing that this love exists, and we all need a love story this often leads to people holding on, holding the pain, and not letting go even when they are hurt as they assume the toxic traits to be love.
The media has glamorised anything and everything right from our work culture to the way we view our relationships be it friendship, acquaintance, or love we expect it to be the same way like we see it on screen.
In reality, when we live in the real world it finally sinks in that there is a huge difference in reel and real.
It is in this real world that we realise that we often keep hurting ourselves just to keep our fairy tales alive.
Rohan Coleman