Forget romance friendship is the new love story. 

Detected Manipulations & Suggested Changes

Oversimplification

Reducing a complex social reality or relationship dynamic to a simple, broad statement.

1) “In her view, current society values friendships more than romantic relationships.” 2) “Even marriages are no longer valued the way her parents valued them,” she says. 3) “Unlike Sheila, she feels society still prioritises romantic love. Valentine’s Day is taken seriously, while Galentine’s Day is not…” These statements compress diverse and complex societal attitudes into simple, sweeping contrasts (friendship vs romance, past vs present, Valentine’s vs Galentine’s) based on individual impressions, without clarifying that these are subjective perceptions and not established social facts.

4 suggestions

Clarify subjectivity: “In her view, many people around her seem to value friendships more than romantic relationships.”

Avoid absolute claims about ‘society’: “She feels that, in her circles, friendships are often treated as more important than romantic relationships.”

Qualify generational comparisons: “She perceives that some marriages today are not valued in the same way her parents valued theirs, though she acknowledges this may not be true for everyone.”

For the Valentine’s vs Galentine’s contrast, add nuance: “She feels that mainstream culture still prioritises romantic love—for example, Valentine’s Day tends to receive more attention than friend-focused celebrations such as Galentine’s Day.”

Hasty generalization

Drawing a broad conclusion about many people or society from a small number of personal experiences or observations.

1) “In her view, current society values friendships more than romantic relationships.” 2) “Even marriages are no longer valued the way her parents valued them,” she says. 3) “Unlike Sheila, she feels society still prioritises romantic love. Valentine’s Day is taken seriously, while Galentine’s Day is not…” 4) “A lot of people are single because they have true friends who show them love,” she says. These lines move from individual experience (her friends, her parents, her social media feed) to broad claims about ‘current society’, ‘marriages’, and ‘a lot of people’ without evidence or data.

4 suggestions

Explicitly tie claims to personal experience: “Based on her experiences, she feels that…” instead of “current society values…”

Replace broad quantifiers with more cautious language: change “A lot of people are single because…” to “She believes some people may choose to remain single because…”

Add acknowledgement of limits: “She recognises that her experience may not reflect everyone’s, but she has noticed…”

If available, support with data or research; otherwise, clearly label as opinion: “She speculates that…” or “In her opinion…”

Unsubstantiated claims

Presenting assertions that imply factual status without evidence or sourcing.

1) “Even marriages are no longer valued the way her parents valued them,” she says. 2) “A lot of people are single because they have true friends who show them love,” she says. These are presented as direct quotes, which is appropriate, but the article does not clearly frame them as personal beliefs or provide any supporting evidence, which can blur the line between reported opinion and implied fact.

4 suggestions

Frame clearly as personal belief: “She believes that many marriages today are not valued in the same way her parents valued theirs.”

Add attribution phrases that signal speculation: “She suggests that one possible reason some people remain single is that they receive enough emotional support from close friends.”

If the article wants to treat these as broader claims, add expert or data context: for example, a sociologist or survey data on marriage attitudes and friendship networks.

Clarify limits: “There is no data in this article to confirm this, but she feels that…”

Confirmation bias / selective use of examples

Highlighting only examples that support a particular narrative while not mentioning counterexamples or alternative patterns.

The article exclusively profiles people who: - Strongly value friendship, often more than romance, and - Have positive, supportive friendship experiences. Examples: Sheila, Gloria, Valary, and Kingsley all describe deep, supportive friendships; even when they mention difficulties, the overall narrative is that friendship is highly rewarding and often more reliable than romance. Social media is referenced only in ways that reinforce the trend (picnics, group outings, gifting flowers, etc.). There are no voices from people who feel isolated, whose friendships have been harmful, or who find romantic relationships more central and stable than friendships.

4 suggestions

Include at least one contrasting perspective: someone who prioritises romantic relationships or who has found friendships less reliable than partners.

Add a brief note acknowledging variation: “While many people report deep, supportive friendships, others find that romantic partners or family remain their primary source of emotional support.”

Ask the expert (sociologist) to comment on potential downsides or limits of relying primarily on friendships, to balance the overwhelmingly positive portrayal.

Clarify that the examples are illustrative, not representative: “These stories illustrate how some young adults are centring friendship in their lives.”

Framing effect

Presenting information in a way that subtly encourages one interpretation over others, without explicitly arguing for it.

The title and opening framing—“Forget romance friendship is the new love story” and the focus on friendship as ‘chosen family’ and ‘soulmates’—implicitly position friendship as a superior or more authentic form of love compared to romance. The article then mostly presents positive friendship stories and only lightly touches on the idea that romance can coexist, which nudges readers toward viewing friendship as the more mature or reliable choice.

4 suggestions

Adjust the headline to be less dismissive of romance: e.g., “Why friendship is becoming many people’s main love story” instead of “Forget romance…”

In the introduction, explicitly state that the article explores a trend among some people, not a universal shift away from romance.

Balance the framing by adding a sentence early on noting that for others, romantic relationships remain central, and that the article focuses on one emerging pattern rather than a replacement.

Give more space to Kingsley’s view that he prioritises his partner and sees friendship and romance as complementary, to counterbalance the implicit ‘friendship over romance’ hierarchy.