What Is A Situationship And Why Is The Term So Popular With Modern Daters? 

Concept, advantages, challenges, and potential.

POSTED BY ANNA GRAHAM

For anyone who’s just reentering the dating landscape, or has never been up to date with the latest vernacular, then the term situationship might seem new and strange. 

An amalgamation of the words situation and relationship, a situationship is a term referring to a couple who have romantic feelings for one another, and engage in sexual activities, but aren’t in a formal or established relationship. 

While the practice of being in an undefined relationship with someone has been going on for decades, if not longer, the term situationship is a more receient addition to the dating lexicon. It was first mentioned in a meme in 2010, and has since become a popular phrase, particularly on social media and dating apps. 

If you’re new to the world of situationships but are eager to find out more, then keep reading for our brief overview.  

The Pros And Cons Of A Situationship 

Like any other type of relationship, situationships come with pros and cons. Whether a situationship will work for you depends on your unique circumstances. 

The pros of a situationship include:

  • A more relaxed approach to dating
  • No emotional ties
  • No need for traditional relationship milestones like meeting parents etc

On the other hand, there can also be disadvantages to a situationship, including:

  • Less clarity on what you both want from the arrangement 
  • It can be hard to completely avoid emotional ties and feelings creeping in
  • Situationships can be difficult to explain socially 

So, a situationship can be great for some individuals, and more complicated for others. Whether it works for you depends on who you have it with and your expectations. 

What To Know If You Want To Enter A Situationship

For some, a situationship might be preferable to a traditional dating set-up, and that’s OK. If you’re looking for this type of arrangement, then the first step is to find a partner who is interested in the same sort of arrangement as you are. Start by looking into casual dating sites like AdultFriendFinder, where you can meet other like-minded individuals and find someone to have a casual relationship with on your terms. Once you’ve found someone who’s also interested in a situationship, you can work with them to create the perfect arrangement that works for both of you. 

How To Avoid Situationships When Dating

Situationships won’t be the ideal solution for everyone, and if you want to avoid accidentally entering into one, then you need to be prepared. The key thing is to understand what a situationship is, and set your needs out to your potential partner from the beginning. Let them know what you are looking for from them and what you expect from them going forward. They can then confirm if you’re on the same page, or if they’re looking for something different, so that you can both avoid wasting your precious time. With a little trial and error, you can find that perfect someone to suit your expectations and give you everything you expect from your romantic relationship. 

Why Situationships Could Be The Future Of Modern Dating

Ultimately, situationships work for a lot of modern daters, particularly those who are looking for an alternative to the often-complicated friends-with-benefits scenario. A situationship can be a convenient solution for many individuals, particularly those with hectic careers and other outside interests. As such, many have hailed it as the future of dating, and consider them to be a good thing. Others might feel that situationships are an affront to traditional romantic values, but actually they’re just a way to adapt them to meet modern needs. So, if you’re thinking about entering into a situationship, then that could be a great choice for you. If not, that’s OK too. The modern world of dating is complex and intricate, and no two individuals are the same, so embrace your unique romantic experience! 

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