REFINE Magazine Spring/Summer 2022: The Indulgence Issue

Page 35

Hëllø, Ýøû By Kaitlyn Hoey It can be tricky to know what others’ intentions are while in a relationship. After meeting a potential partner, it can be confusing whether or not the relationship will come to fruition. Seeing the clingy traits in someone you do not really know is hard and learning what their real intentions are does not always come easy. Sometimes, it is hard to tell the difference between love and infatuation. Obsession is scary and the idea of another person having so much control on your life is intense. In reality, many people can be obsessed with their partner and not even realize, but that does not mean we are not guilty ourselves. A huge type of obsession that people face is stalking. This can be in person stalking, stalking through location apps, or cyber stalking. There are many cases where an ex just happens to be at the same party as you or the same location, but is this really an accident? It is really easy for a partner or ex partner to friends. “A friend of mine, his ex would always be at the same place we were at,” said Matt, a junior engineering student. “I always assumed she would check our Snap-

When using social media it is really easy to get lost in the app. Cyberstalking happens all the time. When in the early stages, or even in a long term relationship, it is very common for someone to spend time looking at their partner’s social media pages. Looking at who they are following and who is following them to see who else is getting their attention. When someone offers just a little bit of their time and affection to us, we as humans crave more, therefore we go to extremes to get it. It is really easy to love the idea of someone and the version you made up about them. After a great few dates it can be really easy to make up a version of this person you are seeing and have a deep connection with them, even though it might not match with their sion of someone that is not even real. Especially when a relationship is new and the spark is there, it is easy Infatuation can be hard to pick out when you think you have strong feelings for a partner. As humans we always want to think the best and think everyone we have feelings for has the same feelings for us. Our obsessive or strong feelings can be disguised as what we believe to be love. These tendencies are so normalized today so it may

It is really easy for us to justify these actions, and even participate in these actions as well.

portant relationship may not always be toxic, but it is

ation. It is extremely easy to google a name or even

into a toxic obsession.

year graduate student at Temple University. Especially before going on a date with someone we met online, it is very common to want to know what this person’s life looks like and apps such as Instagram make that extremely easy.

REFINE Magazine 35


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