Media often portrays the idea of certain individuals being perfect for each other, the ideal partners, the couple that never argues, two souls that seem to be destined for each other. This is often the idea of what a soulmate is. The Oxford dictionary defines a soulmate as “an individual that is closely suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner.” When there is any type of romantic plot in movies and TV shows, they often try to tie it to the idea of soulmates to make it seem like the two individuals relationship is perfect, they were designed for each other, and need each other to survive and feel complete. This is something often seen in media, but is it possible for the real world? Is the idea of soulmates toxic and how does it distort the view of relationships for people today?
There are a lot of people that spend their lives looking for “the one”, but what does that really even mean? Is it that they are looking for someone well suited to them? Someone that they love? Someone that they can see spending the rest of their lives with? The questions might differ between people, but there are people that are truly looking for “the one” or a soulmate. Someone that they believe is made for them. How can one individual person be made for another? This idea has been pushed through the media that society has consumed since a young age which has ultimately affected expectations for relationships and misunderstandings of what a relationship actually is.
Media networks such as Disney, push this idea on people starting from childhood. Disney does this not only from their TV shows shown on Disney Channel, but also their movies. Disney princess movies are particularly guilty of pushing unrealistic ideas about relationships because it brings forth the ideas of “happily ever after” which make it seem like there were never any issues between couple because they were “perfect” for each other. However in any relationship it takes work and communication, something Disney never shows. This continues to push the idea that there are soulmates or certain people made for each other.
The idea of soulmates can cause misconceptions about what a relationship actually looks like and how they actually work. Yes, it is important to find someone suitable for you, but there is no “perfect” person because that puts not only pressure on yourself, but also other people to be perfect. Perfection should never be the goal because “perfect” is different in everyone’s eyes. The ideal of soulmates also means a natural connection which sometimes doesn’t always happen. People meet all over the world in many different ways. Not every single person talks to everyone they pass on the street, does that mean they just missed a chance to spark a natural connection with someone that could potentially be their soulmate? This type of thinking isn’t logical. Relationships form overtime and none of them are perfect, they all take work and effort from both sides. So if you are waiting on your perfect Prince Charming or Cinderella, you could be waiting a long time.
