This was the question posed to me in casual smalltalk with my manager. It was a question meant with the best of intentions, however it started me thinking. My manager is still young at only 22 years old, yet there seemed to be an inbuilt impression that everyone should be in search of their soulmate. It’s like that for the vast majority of our generation. We all have this ingrained notion that we should be in search of our one true love. Whatever happened to these years being the years of self-discovery and experimentation?

Now, I’ve written before about how it seems our whole circle of popular culture seems to be focused on relationships and love. But maybe I was wrong. It appears that it’s not just popular culture influencing our never-ending requirement for a lover and life partner. How many times have you looked at the token couple in your clique and longingly thought, “Why can’t I find someone that loves me like that?” and immediately had it set in your mind that you needed a partner? It’s not an uncommon occurrence. In fact, it’s an increasingly familiar situation. Perhaps even more so than popular culture, we’re being peer pressured into our need for a partner.

What’s worse is that with the rise of social networking, there is literally no escape from the relationship pressures. Facebook, Twitter, even my beloved Tumblr, are all falling to the barrage of relationship status changes and status updates about how great someone’s partner is. There is one boy on my Facebook friend list who constant posts statuses about his amazing girlfriend and how he wished he’d stayed home with her instead of going out with the boys. It’s clear he’s head-over-heels for this girl, which is great for the both of them. But at the same time, every single woman on his friend’s list is sitting at home wishing for a man to choose them over the boys (Which, girls, you’re rarely going to find in a man between the ages of 18 and 24).

The youth generation of today is slowly turning into a mass of loveaholics. Between the peer pressure being placed on us and the influence of popular culture stronger than ever, it’s no wonder we’re obsessed with finding love. We’ve all become scared that we’ll never find that special person who will always be there for us. We’ve become jealous of the people that have what may or may not be that person. Why are we all so scared about not finding love when we’re still so young? What a lot of people are failing to realise, is that it is okay to be single AND ENJOY IT. Whatever became so horrible about enjoy single life? Sure, there are some obvious downfalls; the unadulterated lack of sex, no one to come home and bitch about your day at work to, no one to fall asleep next to. However, there are so many benefits that people often forget in the onslaught of tabloid love.

Flying solo means you can do whatever you want, when you want. If you go out on the town and flirt with some boys to get free drinks, guess what? It’s completely okay! If you want to be a little bit risky and dye your hair Rihanna red, guess what? You can do it without someone shutting down your confidence. If you want to spend the night at home munching down a whole block of Cadbury Dairy Milk and watching The Devil Wears Prada, guess what? Not only can you do that, you can do it all in your comfy trackies with no make-up on. The benefits for the lads are there too. That sexy girl with the great arse on the dance floor? Feel free to go try your best to take her home. The new edition of Halo or Call Of Duty? You can play it for the whole weekend, guilt-free. Going out for a night of booze and the boys? You have no one waiting at home for you, irritated that you chose your mates over them.

These are the years where we’re meant to get so drunk we can’t remember the trip home; the years where we’re meant to have random dance floor pashes with someone who’s name we don’t know; the years where we have the time to be spontaneous and ridiculous. Our addiction and fears about finding the one is stopping us from living our lives to their full potential. Honestly, who really wants to find their soulmate at 20 years old? It’s taken me a long time to realise that being single is fun. No one to answer to, no one’s opinion but your own, no burdens except your own. Our generation needs to take a giant step back and really look at the world around them. Stop being scared, stop being obsessed, take a deep breath and jump head first into life. Things are a lot more fun when you’re living without trepidation and apprehension. These are supposed to be the best years our lives. So let’s make sure they live up to that expectation.