Archipelagotimes.com – For those of you who are lying down but have the brains to walk.
In the midst of the hustle and bustle of a city that wraps people in ambition and relentlessly scrolling through Instagram, the love story feels like a new product soft-launch—beautiful on the feed, full of pressure behind the scenes. Let’s call it Amel, 27 years old, a content strategist who often falls in love with algorithms more than humans. “Dating is now like taking care of a brand—it must be consistent, strategic, and don’t let the engagement drop,” she complained while checking a DM from her boyfriend who asked why her chat was only replied to by emojis. In Jakarta, relationships are not just about chemistry, but also schedules, signals, and emotional stability.
According to a Katadata survey (2024), 72% of young people in the upper middle class in big cities admit to being ‘emotionally burnout’ due to the demands of communication in romantic relationships. In fact, 1 in 3 respondents equate dating with night shift work—tired but unable to leave. Ironically, in the lower social class, relationships are even simpler: walking together while eating pecel catfish is enough to be a love language. This difference in expectations makes love feel like a startup—it can go up in valuation, it can fail before pitching.
So if you intend to date me, get ready to sign an emotional contract. Schedule morning meetings for dream discussions, afternoon revisions if misunderstandings, and weekly reports on feelings. The HRD? Trust issues. The salary? Inner validation and occasional stories together. Because I’m not a situation you can ghost, and my love is not a beta app—it needs maintenance, not uninstall when it crashes.
If love is now a matter of office work, when was the last time you dated to be happy, not to perform?
