It is indeed getting tough nowadays to overlook and turn a blind eye towards the uprising of what has been tagged as hook-up culture, and the knack now popularly known as runs. This is a phenomenon that cuts across universities, cities, and even suburban areas, with increasing numbers of young women being involved in short-term relationships for the financial benefits. Nobody wants to talk about it, but the reality that stares in our faces is that girls today are peddling their dignity for easy money, designer bags, and flashy lifestyles.
The Lure of the High Life
One can imagine why many girls are falling for this way of life. The temptation is everywhere on social media, where Influencers are flaunting luxury vacations, expensive clothes, and lavish lifestyles that seem impossible to get with hard work alone. And so, many girls fall into the trap of looking for a short-cut way of having it all without putting in the effort.
The cost, however, is high. What starts off as a “casual” exchange becomes a vicious circle that is hard to break later on. The girls move into a relationship with older, richer men, oftentimes married, who would not mind paying their way in return for sex. This trend has become more popular and is known as “runs”. The girls see it as an easy way out of financial struggles or a quick route to material success.
The Damage No One Talks About
While this lifestyle may look so exciting and glamorous to anyone on the outside, in reality, it brings devastating emotional and psychological damage. Many young women convince themselves it’s only a phase of their lives or even a harmless means of getting by. But beneath the surface, the constant objectification, the lack of real emotional connection, and the erosion of self-respect are silently eating away at their self-worth.
What is even more disturbing is the normalization of this behavior. It no longer raises any eyebrows to hear that university girls are being “sponsored” by older men or one-night stands as a way of trying to make ends meet. That has now become part of the social fabric, just an unfortunate reality which most accept because, well, that is just the way things are. The long-term impact, though, is often loneliness, depression, and a distorted sense of what love and relationships are supposed to be about.
Who’s Really Winning?
To those girls who have become involved in hook-up or runs culture, it may seem that they are winning, after all, the cash, the expensive dinners, the trips to Dubai, and the new iPhones come to them. The real winners here are the Men. Men who take advantage of the insecurity of such girls, who dangle money in front of them as bait with which to leave them more broken than when they found them.
These men have their cake and eat it, while they live in some fantasy world with no consequences. Meanwhile, the girls feel that they are in control, whereas, as a matter of fact, they are being thoroughly exploited. It is a complete illusion of control, and with increased reliance on these sponsors for one’s lifestyle, a girl becomes more and more trapped. By the time the reality sets in, often irreparable damage has been done.
The Ripple Effect on Society
The hook-up and runs culture is not just destroying lives, it is affecting society at large. Authentic relationships can’t be found anymore. Trust among men and women is wearing off, with everyone suspecting the other of some kind of intention. If materialism forms the bedrock of relationships, where does that leave values like love, respect, and commitment?
This is a trend that only serves to fuel all of the most damaging stereotypes about women, that they can easily be bought, that they value money over an actual relationship, that their worth is relative to what they can get from a man. It actually reinforces the idea that success is related to materialism rather than self-respect, education, or hard work.
The Way Out
What, then, is the way out of this vicious circle? It starts with the narrative change. Young women must be made to believe that their self-worth does not depend on the ‘designer’ bags they carry or the amount of money in their bank accounts. True success lies in creating a life of integrity, self-respect, and independence, something no amount of money can ever purchase.
It also calls for society to make conscious deliberate steps to attend to the root causes, poverty, lack of opportunities, and glorification of materialism. For as long as we fail to give more decent options to young women, their temptation toward hook-ups and runs would be great.
More importantly, it is creating awareness that the fast life is just not worth the emotional wreckage it leaves behind in their lives. No amount of quick cash will ever compensate for the damage it does to their mental health, self-esteem, and future relationships in the long run.
At the end of the day, hook-up and runs culture is a dead-end street. It is time for young women to stop giving away their futures in exchange for short-lived pleasures and material advantages. The fast life may seem enticing to anyone, but it is also far darker than anybody would ever care to admit. The way forward can only be paths of self-respect, personal growth, and building a life that is truly authentic rather than anchored in the fake promises of sugar daddies and sponsors.
