However jaded some young professional singles may become, we must start by saying that this is not an attack on couples and we may or may not be guilty of some of these behaviours ourselves from time to time. But certain couple-isms are awkward, annoying and plain sickening to others – single or not. We thought we’d mention a few in particular…
PDAs
Of course it is nice and refreshing to see couples that are truly in love and enjoy each other’s company. With that said, a fine line exists between sweet and sickening. We’ve all seen that couple that flaunts their prolonged kisses, baby talk and over-the-top groping in public in an attempt to prove how happy they are to the friends, acquaintances and strangers around them. Even if they are not trying to prove anything at all, and are in fact so caught up in each other that they become blissfully unaware that they are not alone, the whole fairytale isn’t as cute to the rest of us. Supermodel couple or not, PDAs are gross and make everyone else around you uncomfortable. Couples need to be aware of their surroundings. Especially awkward are times of no escape, like in line at the grocery store or bank, on public transit (the worst!), on a plane, in a waiting room or the elevator, where others are forced to endure the close proximity of the display.
Disrupting Sidewalk Flow with Handholding and Slow Walking
Young professionals living in cities across the country know how difficult it can be to maneuver through busy city streets and that there is indeed an art to walking in an urban centre. Nothing is worse than having to move around couples because they refuse to let go of one another’s hands on bustling sidewalks. It can make one almost want to karate chop their perpetually locked hands apart. Equally as frustrating is being stuck behind a couple that insists on walking suuuuper slowly together. Fine, it’s cute that they may be lost in the moment, in their own world and each other, but on city streets this is not going to fly for the people with places to be who are stuck behind you.
Matching Outfits
We are all for coordinating outfits, especially at things like charity events (tie or pocket squares with cocktail dresses) and theme parties. And it is one thing to have similar his and her dock shoes, runners and team jerseys; but of particular annoyance are couples that look plain ridiculous dressed like twins in matching sweatshirts, jackets and anything else a la Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod. Just because you are in love doesn’t mean you are one person in body, mind and attire.
Social Media Displays
You know them: that couple that dominates your newsfeed with wall messages back and forth; or comments on the 345 pictures that they each respectively posted of their recent trip to the Caribbean. We always wonder – don’t these couples interact enough in person to reserve the social media realm as a welcomed outlet to communicate with the rest of the world? In terms of PDA, the same rules apply in social media as in the physical world. A few pictures of you kissing here and there may be cute (especially to your mom), but nobody besides the two of you needs to see an album full of kissing shots. Furthermore, we have seen couples post some scandalously racy pictures of the two of them online. Save the pictures for the two of you. Please.
Come Only as a Package Deal and Try to Make More Couples
For single friends, it is annoying when couples come only as a package deal, or only after having to check with the other person first. It is these types of couples who tend to think there is something wrong with their single friends so they either alienate themselves from them or take it upon themselves to “convert” to the other side by trying to play matchmaker at every opportunity. Couples were once singles and they should not lose sight of that, or the fact that they could in fact become single again at some point. There’s no need to criticize the single life or make single friends question their single status. They just may be having more fun.
So, are you guilty?