• What if the blindfolds come off and the physical connection is not as strong?
Image: PEXELS
A few weeks ago, Netflix premiered a show called 'Love is Blind'. The show is a reality programme that experimented with the notion of falling in love.
They forced men and women to ‘date’ and speak to each other through a wall for several days. The goal was to build a strong emotional connection that was the foundation of love. After a couple figured they were in love, they would finally meet, hence incorporate the physical element of love.
In the show, of the six couples who chose to be engaged during the experiment, only two couples made it to the altar. The rest ascertained that they did, in fact, have a deep emotional connection with their partners, but once the walls were removed and the physical world came into play, everything fell apart. One couple broke up because of age differences and another claimed there was a lack of sexual chemistry.
The show was a hit worldwide, and according to Netflix’s own stats, the show was trending at number one in Kenya for a couple of weeks after its premiere. I started reflecting on the premise of the show. It tackled a major problem when it comes to love.
When we meet people, we immediately start judging them, albeit subconsciously. We judge their appearance, speech, how they carry themselves, their age, weight, height, race, dress, and so on. What makes love such a mystical part of life is the complexities associated with the feeling.
A simple way to compare the premise of the experiment on the show is the Internet. Think about it, since its inception, how many people have fallen in love over the Internet? How many people have you met and flirted with online?
From sliding into DMs, online dating to social media following, the possibilities of meeting people are endless. The global village made it possible to connect to people in faraway lands, hence expanding the dating pool exponentially.
People from different countries would connect on the Internet, old schoolmates would reconnect on social media platforms, and people with a Wi-Fi connection could speak on the phone for hours!
Like it or not, the Internet was the first social dating experiment. People would connect emotionally by pouring their hearts out to the person on the other end. They talk without restrictions. They fall in love without reservations. The emotional connection is undoubtedly solid at this point. So what happens when they meet?
The physical element of love is equally as important as the emotional connection when it comes to maintaining a relationship. Once the people who have spent countless hours connecting on the Internet meet, their fate is sealed by the physical attraction.
If they meet and the sparks fly, then love wins. However, what happens when the physical attraction is not as strong as the emotional one? Some people are considered shallow for focusing too much on the physical attributes. However, can a relationship survive without carnal attraction?
Love is a multifaceted emotion. It is made up of many complex elements at its best. So yes, physical attraction is an integral part of falling in love. An emotional connection cannot suffice; there must be a physical attraction for two people to be in love. Otherwise, the relationship is just a friendship with a deep emotional connection.
As seen in the 'Love is Blind' experiment, strangers are able to fall in love without ever seeing each other. But, when the blindfolds come off and the physical connection is not as strong as the emotional one, it is unlikely that the love will prosper. Love might be blind, but to keep the love alive, we need to go in with both eyes wide open.