Something is Missing

It is universally understood that being single in 2023 was not just taboo - it was actively discouraged, almost forbidden. In this world, being single was a stamp of failure, an indication that you could not find someone who was compatible with you in any and every possible way.

I shuffled through the restless city streets with these exhausting thoughts tormenting my mind until I found myself at the front door of the dating center. Entering this alleged center of love, I couldn't help but feel a sense of apprehension. I walked through the intimidating lobby veiled by sleek modernity and navigated the maze of hallways. I passed countless other hopefuls, all plagued with what looked to be forced tenacity. We were all here for the same reason: to find someone to spend our lives with. But finding that special someone was not so simple.

The receptionist towering over me looked me up and down with a commanding glare that pierced right through me, yet her fabricated smile almost softened the sting. She placed a cold clipboard before me. Fill out these forms. My stomach was in knots. My palms were almost dripping with hesitation. And we will get started with your compatibility assessment. I grabbed the clipboard, gripping it hard, for I feared it would slip out of my hand.

Dismally inhaling and exhaling,  I began to fill out the questionnaire. I was questioned about everything from my favorite color to my thoughts on the role of government in society. It was an arduous process, but I knew I had to be honest to find my perfect match.

Finally, after what felt like hours, my results came in. I was a "type C" personality, with a preference for people who were astute, extroverted, and enjoyed long car rides at night. Quite specific, I would say. The dating center's algorithm identified a multitude of promising matches, and they provided me with an account on their very own dating app.

Swiping left and right on dating apps had become my norm. I was forced to make impulsive judgments based on a single photo or a short bio. It was a continuous cycle of swiping, matching, and ghosting. I sat in my apartment, still enduring solitude, and scrolled and tapped and clicked through endless profiles on this god-forsaken dating app. The days transformed into weeks, and the weeks mutated into months, all while I STILL remained alone. 

I wondered if this was all life had to offer me. Was finding a partner really the more important thing? Or was there something deeper and more meaningful that I was missing? I wanted to meet people organically. I wanted to establish connections and build a foundation grounded in something more than just a meaningless series of checkboxes and data points. I began to realize something. The system was flawed. It forced us to reconstruct ourselves based on what the algorithm expected–to fit a preconceived notion of a perfect partner. Though it was a world of boundless opportunity, it was not accompanied by real connection. And so, even as I scrolled through countless “matches” on my phone, I could not help but feel like something was missing.

*The inspiration for this piece is the film The Lobster. In this film, society expects people to be in a relationship by a certain point in their lives. However, the means by which they drive this completely undermines the entire foundation of what true love is supposed to be. I wanted to take the first scene from this movie and give it a modern twist so that we can see slight parallels and differences between this art and our life and how love is viewed and experienced.