Public Display of Affection: An Everlasting Debate

PDA, or Public Display of Affection, refers to the act of performing physical affection out of closed doors. It is mainly prevalent among teenagers and youngsters in schools and colleges. Some refer to it as ‘young love’, while the others think of it as ‘a shame to society and culture’.
As we dive deeper into the era of social media, we find ourselves turning familiar to such terms. PDA is one of them and since time immemorial, there has been a debate on the morals and ethics attached to it.
Adolescence is known to have several stages and plot twists. Attraction and Infatuation is one of the biggest plot twists that adolescence has in store for middle schoolers. Moreover, infatuation occurs around the same time when an adolescent develops physical sexual changes and urges and gets emotionally and physically involved. And in most cases, sexually as well.
PDA can exist in many ways and for numerous purposes. It can exist as a result of physical urges. It can exist in order to pass on a message to spectators and the list is endless. PDA ranges from minor acts such as holding hands to major actions such as heavy kissing in public.
It is essential to understand that when a couple performs PDA, their actions have motives that lie beyond physical urges. Their actions represent the value the person has for their partner. PDA is also known to help couples get rid of their insecurities, not only as better halves of each other, but also, as individuals. New research also suggests that couples who kiss each other goodbye before going about their day-to-day activities have a higher chance of excelling in their respective routines.
However, if PDA makes a spectator genuinely uncomfortable to an extent where they couldn’t even ignore the activities of a couple, it counts as slightly problematic. I mean, you wouldn’t want to start off your day knowing that the couple sitting beside you on your tram to work were indulging in activities that made you uncomfortable.
Yes, we aren’t kids anymore and are sane enough to contemplate what’s ethical and what’s not. But yes, we can’t not speak up for ourselves in case of discomfort and in case of having boundaries violated.