LIQUID LOVE: what it is, characteristics and examples

  • Dec 30, 2021
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Liquid love: what is it, characteristics and examples

Today's society is characterized by a fast pace of life, which does not allow us to enjoy small details of daily life. This has been extrapolated to the world of romantic relationships, which together with the constant change shown by social media and lack of commitment, have turned love into a concept superficial.

Therefore, in the Online Psychology article we inform you about the Liquid love: what it is, characteristics and examples. Of course, taking as a reference Bauman's theory of liquid love, who develops this concept about the fragility of human bonds.

You may also like: The chemistry of love: is there a scientific formula?

Index

  1. What is liquid love?
  2. What are the characteristics of liquid love
  3. Possible causes of liquid love
  4. Examples of liquid love
  5. Consequences of liquid love

What is liquid love?

The concept "liquid love" was designated by the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman. Liquid love refers to the superficiality of relationships sentimental and the fragility of the emotional roots that we tend to establish.

What does Bauman say about love? According to Zygmunt, the objective of this type of love is to be able to keep in constant change without having relationships that tie us down. This concept not only describes relationships with others, but also highlighted the liquidity of love with ourselves.

In today's society, we find liquid love as an example in the search for a partner in order to have someone to serve us as Emotional Support. However, we do not stop to think that it is necessary first to accept and love ourselves, to be able to deeply love another person.

For this reason, on many occasions, couple relationships end up becoming relationships characterized by emotional dependence, instead of being a source of emotional well-being. In order to create healthy relationships it is necessary that we build a strong self esteem that does not depend on the external evaluation of others, as described by Bauman's postulates about liquid love.

What are the characteristics of liquid love.

To understand what liquid love is, we must first take into account what the bonds of liquid society are like, whose main characteristics are the following:

  • Value of present experiences.
  • Lack of compromise.
  • Need for freedom.
  • Punctual and not very responsible consumption.
  • Immediate satisfaction.
  • Emotional detachment.
  • Fragility of relationships.
  • Superficial links.
  • Physical attraction.
  • Individualism.
  • Vacuum sensation.
  • Extrinsic motivations.
  • Commodification of relationships.

Possible causes of liquid love.

According to the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, liquid love about the fragility of human bonds has multiple causes, including the following:

  • Limiting beliefs: Negative thoughts that we are not worthy or capable of having a healthy and deep romantic relationship limits us from finding someone who accepts that bond.
  • Low self-esteem: insecurities and low self-esteem determine that we do not have enough emotional maturity to be able to connect deeply with another person, thus giving ourselves liquid love. However, if we work on ourselves, we will be able to evolve emotionally and understand well what commitment is and what it implies.
  • Lack of freedom: the fear of feeling tied and having to make decisions taking into account another person, generates the feeling of lack of freedom. This lack of freedom scares us and prevents us from establishing deeper emotional ties.
Liquid Love: What It Is, Characteristics And Examples - Possible Causes Of Liquid Love

Examples of liquid love.

Below, several examples of liquid love are mentioned, in order to better understand what this concept consists of:

  • Immediate satisfaction. This example of liquid love is about those people who have sex with a person to whom they are physically attracted, solely for immediate bodily satisfaction.
  • Superficiality. People who superficially create a sentimental bond through social networks without even having seen each other in person.
  • Fear of compromise. Liquid love also occurs in cases where people who know each other and get along, but who do not want to make the relationship official to avoid commitment.
  • Craving for freedom. People who want to be in a relationship but decide to label it an “open relationship” to avoid the feeling of lack of freedom. This is also an example of liquid love according to Zygmunt Bauman's theory.
  • Insubstantial ties. People who are in a relationship but avoid establishing a deep emotional bond, in case they are attracted to another person to be able to allow themselves to have sex with her.

Consequences of liquid love.

The consequences that arise from liquid love about the fragility of human bonds, can be both emotional and behavioral, the following can be highlighted:

  • Reification: the fact of considering the other person as a product to be consumed, nullifies the human value and encourages the treatment of the person as a mere object to be tested.
  • Abuse: this consequence is closely linked to reification. Since, if we take away the human value, we think that we have the right to do with that person what we want. Sexual abuse and / or power abuse arise from these types of beliefs.
  • Emotional dissatisfaction: If we maintain such superficial relationships, we cannot create a real sentimental bond, which may imply the absence of emotional support.
  • Waste of time: When love is characterized by the fragility of the bond, the time we invest in building this relationship is time wasted since we know in advance that it has an expiration date.
  • Lowers self-esteem: the fact of not feeling important to the other person, creates insecurities that encourage the appearance of limiting beliefs about the lack of deservedness.

If at some point in your life you feel that the romantic relationship you are in is about a relationship characterized by liquid love, it is important that you stop to reflect on whether that is the type of relationship that want.

In the same way, if you have been able to identify this type of love and do not know how to manage it, and it even causes you discomfort, do not be afraid in ask a professional for help of psychology that equips you with the necessary tools to make the best decisions about your relationship.

You may be interested in knowing more about love and how it is understood according to various fields and theories. If so, we recommend you consult our post about What is love according to psychology.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Liquid love: what is it, characteristics and examples, we recommend that you enter our category of Feelings.

Bibliography

  • Spirit Avila, A. R. (2021). Zygmunt Bauman's Concept of Liquid Love: A Critical Examination. Available in: https://cybertesis.unmsm.edu.pe/handle/20.500.12672/16805
  • Tamayo, J. J. (2017). Zygmunt Bauman: Postmodernity, Liquid Life, Liquid Love. ContraPunto digital newspaper. Available in: https://www.sancarlosborromeo.org/docs/Zygmunt%20Bauman%20posmodernidad,%20vida%20li%cc%81quida,%20amor%20li%cc%81quido.pdf
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