intensity is one thing but what’s really interesting in modern culture is that breakups used to be life events, now they’re almost seasonal. the churn rate is pretty ridiculous esp in places like nyc. we’ve basically financialized romantic attachment in many ways not unlike high frequency trading. & just like in markets, each transaction prolly has slippage… e.g. psych costs that potentially compound over time. we’re participating in a radically more fluid, accelerated, & disposable system. that’s a huge recent change.