There has been a trend of “mouth friends” in mainland China recently. (Scheme / xFrame)
“Mouth friends” who just kiss but don’t fall in love have recently become a new dating trend among young people in mainland China. This trend not only appears in various social groups and dating platforms but is also popular among college students. Some psychological consultants pointed out that the low cost, no burden, and characteristics to meet the psychology of students are the main reasons why mouth friends are very popular with Chinese young people.
According to Earth media full reports, college student Guan Li has revealed that an oral friend who will stop contacting after kissing is exactly the relationship she needs now. She once kissed the person she liked, but the other part told her that he didn’t want to fall in love with her. This experience made her realize that “Enjoying the moment is the most important thing, with a kissing partner, I can feel like I’m kissing someone I love”, thinking that kissing is normal and not a big deal, and also saying “I know some people who kiss, but don’t become lovers.”
Chen Peng, who once studied at a top Beijing university, also said that kissing has a physical and psychological comforting effect on him, but the emotional intensity and complexity are less than that of sexual intercourse. “Finding a kissing partner is meeting the needs of many people at a lower cost.” Another student studying in the art department remarked that the mouth mate met her requirement to “not seek a relationship with just sex and loveless,” and it satisfied her need to maintain a serious relationship because she was busy with her thesis and creation and lacked energy and time.
A woman surnamed Zhang who met an oral buddy at a movie theater in the past suggested that newbies should clarify their boundaries before dating and reminded that kissing has health risks. If necessary, “ask the oral buddy to show a health report”. Fei Junfeng, a consultant at Nanjing University Mental Health Education and Guidance Center, pointed out that under the epidemic, there is a lack of face-to-face contact with the opposite sex, young people have no energy to fall in love with a introverted environment, lack of love in the student stage, and are curious about intimacy but not suitable. Objects, and therefore attracted to the new model of dating and love, are the three main reasons for the popularity of buddy-mouth.
However, Fei Junfeng also mentioned that this kind of casual kissing date can cause “self-harm” because it means “you don’t respect your body and don’t use it as a tool.” These young people have problems with their mentality about love and love”.
