American culture often confuses being friendly with flirting, which raises the question: Can men and women in the 21st century be just friends?

Yes. The term “platonic relationship” validates the notion of men and women just being friends. The fact that there is an English term that defines this type of relationship solidifies its existence in American culture.

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines the word “platonic” as, “having a close relationship in which there is no romance or sex.”

Along with the commercialization of sex, social media services, such as Tinder, have created a speed-dating phenomena that has transformed our culture’s approach to how men and women interact.

Many men and women have been conditioned to view others through a hyper-sexualized lens. Some men and women “swipe-left” when approached by individuals who fail to fulfill their criteria of attractiveness, which closes themselves off to potential friendships.

However, viewing others through a “friendship” lens, opposed to a hyper-sexualized lens, will encourage friendships rather than encourage highly sexualized relationships.

Although the phenomena of the hyper-sexualized lens has seemingly decreased the number of men and women who view their relationships as just friendships, this phenomena has not completely eradicated the innocence and benefits of having a friendship.

Not all men and women in the 21st century have adopted this hyper-sexualized lens, so although it has become much more rare to find platonic relationships in this day and age, some treasures are worth searching for.

Just being friends can be incredibly rewarding. From receiving advice to having an ear to confide in, it becomes extremely important to have a platonic relationship when relationships in our culture have become commercially hyper-sexualized.

Not only do platonic relationships exist in our society, they are necessary to combat the rise in hyper-sexualized commercial dating in our culture.