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Lessons in courtship from Gen Z

They are 18, 20 or 25 years old. They were born into the digital world and are fed on social networks. They see the world through the prism of new priorities and new visions. And what about courtship? In this month when we celebrate love, we wanted to decipher their way of working.

The line between friendship and love...

Constraints? Not known. The couple? There's no hurry, first you have to define the level of "situationship", basically determine the grey area between friendship, with or without sex, occasional, free or official relationships. And love? It starts with self-love, doesn't it? As you can see, love is not the top priority for Gen Z. In fact, it only comes in fourth place, far behind relationships with oneself, one's family and friends. And yet, our little brothers and sisters love dating apps, chatting and searching for themselves on social networks. The rest is more complicated…

Romantic but pragmatic, they believe in love at first sight, but meeting in person is not the most urgent thing: the voice. They test the ground by exchanging for weeks on TikTok or Instagram, they talk to each other, they leave each other voice notes because the voice is what thrills them, what stimulates their imagination, what is the basis of their courtship.

"Everyone uses photo filters, so how can you really know what your crush actually looks like? At least the voice doesn't deceive and then it opens up the field of possibilities. I can spend hours listening to a voice I like, talking to someone I don't even know yet. In general, I already know whether the meeting afterwards will go well or not," says Emilio, 19.

And when it comes to moving from the virtual to the real...

How do they go about falling in love? "Small gestures, a bouquet of flowers or the thoughtfulness of picking up the bill will obviously score points, that's for sure," says Alisson, 21, who has also made an effort to look good. "But without trying too hard, I don't want to be someone else. I just want to feel good and be in tune with myself." Whatever her style or habits, there is no deception on the goods, that is now the rule, called Bae-Realing.

However, a look or a gesture will also make them fall in love as long as it remains sincere and authentic.

This shows that, from generation to generation, a spark of magic does not hurt and can sometimes make the ideal partner appear.