(Her Perspective)

R.I.P. romance, for music and social media, has brought upon us its sudden and most likely temporary death.
Despite that opening line, I want to go ahead and make it known that I am not one of those people who blame social media for the destruction of everything good in life. However, its and music’s effect on the overall “romance” in the lives of those around me is too apparent to overlook.
Since the beginning of time, love has existed. And whether you believe that to be through the creation story or evolution, it still holds steady in the timeline of the earth. However, romance has not been so constant.
There are many different perceptions of the word “romance.” According to Lexico, romance is a feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.
Popular songs have always been an indicator of how society feels toward romance at the moment and/or shifted its current way of thinking. For example, “Hello” by Lionel Richie and “I’ll Stand by You” by The Pretenders had everyone in the mood to either profess their love to an unsuspecting victim or mentally recommit themselves to their current loved one.
When Beyoncé released “Irreplaceable” in 2006, however, it was a completely different story. It gave people the backbone to say “forget you” to any significant other that was not on his or her best behavior.
In today’s society, imagine the message of “Irreplaceable” times 10 on each chart-topping song. Songs such as “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande, “Bodak Yellow” by Cardi B. and “Apologize” by Timbaland have invaded the forgiving and affectionate spirits of today’s youth involving their love lives.
Now, I have to admit that I love a good “forget you” anthem myself. However, music is rather persuasive. So, when it comes to my love life, fighting the urge to listen to hardcore music and sitting in the midst of my own thoughts is probably the best idea.
Social media, unfortunately, is not any less persuasive than music. When people see Romeo and Juliet all lovey-dovey on social media every day, they start to settle for just anybody to make themselves feel less lonely. When you settle for anyone, you have no intention of keeping alive “romance” because the birth of romance never took place for you.
Constantly hearing and absorbing the thoughts and mindsets of others subconsciously affects our own.
Despite society’s recent mood toward romance, according to Statista, in 2017, 87 percent of respondents stated that they believe in true love. Love is not dead and you cannot state that today’s society “just doesn’t love the way it used to.”
However, the current state of romance is dead at the hands of today’s social media and music. It will resurrect either through another switch in society’s music and social media trends or people will simply decide to stop letting outside influences affect their love life.