Da One

Welcome to the 21st century. Dating apps, websites, and match makers are everywhere, yet somehow it feels like there is less love and fewer lasting relationships.

This year's season of Married At First Sight USA got its highest number of applicants yet. Thousands of Americans signed up in the hope that a complete stranger would be the one for them.

We're seeing themes of this all over, with more young people than ever in the UK still living at home with their parents, under huge amounts of debt and struggling to find love.

Why is love so hard to find in a world bustling with people, and online connections? Here are five reasons I think people are struggling to find love:

1. Wish lists. We put a lot into criteria, with many of us having a list of things that our partner must have and a list that they can't have. From wanting the person we fall in love with to have a good job to not ever dating natural red heads, we're always nit-picking when it comes to love.
2. Common ground. So many of us believe that a partner in life has to have common ground with us. Though this may be true, you have to remember you're not looking for a mirror image of yourself. The person you fall in love with may have very little common ground with you, but if you both love each other enough, you'll learn how to love the things they love too, and your world will be opened up because of it.
3. That bod, though. You are not going to look the same as you do now in 20 years time, and neither is the person you fall in love with. Immediately dismissing someone because of their exterior appearance is like dismissing a house before you learn it has five bedrooms and a heated swimming pool out back. You may have found a muscular Greek god, but remember in 20 years they could have a beer belly and be balding.
4. We fight too often. Couples fight. Packing in a relationship because of a few bad arguments is just running away. To make a relationship work, you have to be willing to work for it. Next time you fight, take a minute and actually try to have a rational conversation about the issue, step into their shoes for a second, and look at the issue from both sides, then team up and tackle it together. In a relationship, the issue is the enemy, not your partner.
5. There might be someone better. Okay, you're not wrong. There may well be someone better out there, but here's the thing: there may also not be anyone better out there. Saying goodbye to someone you actually love because you "think" the grass could be greener elsewhere is just madness. If you meet someone who you have a better connection with then that's a different thing, but if you're just daydreaming of perfection, you could find yourself giving up real love for something that simply does not exist.

Did I miss anything?