Physical intimacy wins hands down!

[brijv]

Waiting for several hours for your sweetheart and defining it as love might no longer be worth its ‘weight’ in gold. Gifting a costly mobile phone might no longer connect romantically and send the right message across.

Even gifting roses and waiting for that oh-so-priceless expression could be considered passé.

Yes, love has changed a lot over the years but never has mush been as physical as it is now. For, according to a poll conducted exclusively for TOI by a market research firm, 38 per cent of youngsters in the city feel that ‘physical intimacy’ is what love is all about. Surprisingly, in no other city did this figure exceed 6 per cent!

According to Shravanthi M, a college student, physical intimacy radiates positivity in the relationship. “When I hold my boyfriend’s hand, I feel secure,” she states.

Showing off a partner to a group of friends can also be achieved by physical intimacy, feel some. Gopi S, marketing executive, is one of them. “Also, it makes you feel closer to your loved one when you’re with a bunch of people,” he says.

Counselling psychologist Saras Bhaskar states that there is a general increase in the number of youngsters getting physically intimate in relationships. “Looking at it from the emotional aspect, physical intimacy becomes a natural progressive state,” she explains, “From the behavioural point of view, it could gratify the emotional needs at whatever level it is exhibited.”

According to singer Shwetha Mohan, physical intimacy is a part and parcel of the ‘love game.’ “But I wouldn’t give it a lot of importance,” says the singer, who got engaged recently, “After all, love leads to physical intimacy and not the other way around.”

But, love can only increase with physical intimacy, argues HR executive Raj Prakash. “The best part of intimacy is that it can be enjoyed even while doing other romantic things; for instance, holding hands during a candle-light dinner.”

Concludes clinical psychologist Sangeetha Madhu, “It’s a paradox of today’s culture that technology has connected us like never before; yet youngsters are exhibiting emotional disturbances. Specifically, in Chennai, the concept of close-knit families is slowly decreasing and that could perhaps be a reason for youngsters seeking more physical intimacy while in other metropolitan cities, this happened quite a few years ago.”