Now trending among youth: I do, undo & redo

THANE: The incident involving a 22-year-old woman attempting suicide at Central Maidan on Friday after her long-time boyfriend rejected her marriage proposal has stirred a debate in the city about the increasing incidents of commitment phobia among youths to long-term relationships.
Dr Shailesh Umate, physiatrist at the Institute for Psychological Health (IPH), said, “The trend among the youths is not to be in a committed relationship.The youngsters are too impatient and focused on their careers to value relationship. They also prefer being in live-in relationships as they don’t have to take more responsibilities that they may have to if they marry.”
Most counsellors are of the opinion that the growing consumer culture has taken a toll on personal relationships and the youth today is said to be looking for better choices and options even when it comes to matters of the heart.
Madhavi Kulkarni, counselor at the IPH said, “The thought process among the youth has changed. They feel that they have a lot of choices and if one person goes, they might get someone better. They don’t are not ready to take responsibility but are okay with having a physical relationship. This attitude even leads to individuals not taking up family responsibilities.”
Marriage counselors believe that divorce cases are on the rise as couples are unable to adjust and have issues with responsibilities and low self-esteem.
Dr Aditi Acharya, physiatrist and marriage counselor, said, “Many married couples within their two or three years of marriage come for counseling. Their problems are mostly related to responsibilities, adjustments and low self esteem due to which they find it difficult to be with their partners irrespective of the fact that they have feelings for each other.”
Priyanka Pereira (25), a resident of Kolbad, said, “To certain extent this generation is commitment-phobic as we are scared to lose our freedom and individuality. There is always a fear of being hurt or cheated and also that the person with whom we invest time and emotion would end the relationship one day. We do want a committed relationship but we are afraid to get into one.”