Translated by AI

In this highly quantified era, it seems everything can be priced, measured, and compared, even the most private, elusive emotional realm is no exception. The swipes on social media and selections in matchmaking activities all hint at a harsh reality: many now perceive dating as an invisible market. In this market, everyone bears an intangible number, an index denoting attraction and competitiveness, which we might call the "Dating Market PR Value" (Percentile Rank).

A higher PR value means better "market conditions" and more options. This mentality of quantifying intimate relationships and commodifying personal allure is profoundly impacting people's partner selection standards and self-worth evaluations.

In this dating market, one's PR value isn't decided by a single factor but is comprised of several core aspects, determining who you attract and how fast you can exit the "single" status:

1. Physical Capital (Physical Attractiveness)

This is the most direct and easily measurable index, serving as the market’s primary screening hurdle. Appearance includes looks, build, dress taste, and self-maintenance level. In today's "looks equals justice" era, physical capital is akin to product packaging, rapidly capturing market attention to secure more "views" and "trials." While superficial, it remains the key to unlock the market.

2. Ability and Resources (Social Status)

This pertains to education, profession, income, family background, social standing, etc. These factors illustrate a person's provided value, i.e., the stability and prospective life quality they contribute to a relationship. High ability indicates high scarcity, thus possessing stronger pricing power in the market. This factor often governs relationships aimed at marriage or those emphasizing "matching social standings."

3. Emotional Value (Inner Attractiveness)

This is the hardest to measure, yet vital hidden asset. Emotional value describes one’s ability to offer stable, joyous, supportive emotions. Even if not supreme in appearance or capabilities, someone making you feel comfortable, understood, and cherished can possess very high repurchase and stickiness rates in the emotional market. In today's pressurized society, emotional value is deemed a luxury over material goods for many.

The weighted average of these three components forms your "Dating Market PR Value," used to assess your compatibility with others, sometimes becoming a self-comparison shackle.

However, market values are often skewed and incomplete. A person attractive in market terms for a "high PR value" does not equal genuine allure and suitability in personal relationships.

Picture a "premium product" with exemplary education, high earnings, and remarkable looks. They wield immense pricing power in the market, daily auctioned by multitudes of admirers. Yet, lacking basic emotional value—being demanding, emotionally erratic, or arrogant—their "actual experiential value" in relationships plummets significantly.

On the other hand, many whose market PR value seems modest may actually be immensely dedicated, empathetic, humorous, and willing to genuinely contribute to the relationship. Their actual relationship value surpasses their PR label enormously. It confirms that markets are illusion-laden spaces where people often pay for nonexistent needs or miss paramount treasures truly fitting them.

The gravest risk arises when we start viewing ourselves through PR value lenses, descending into an endless comparison pitfall. We begin tying self-worth to market reactions: rejection reads as "insufficient PR value"; courting a high-score match tells of "price surge."

Yet, ultimately, humans aren’t commodities. Commodity value hinges on market supply and demand, whereas a person’s value is self-created and consistently fluctuating.

When we allow external market labels to dictate our inner selves, we start living to please the market: overly fretting about appearance to bolster "physical capital;" sacrificing health and soul to uplift "social status." This is fundamentally misplaced. As you chase higher PR values, your market dependence deepens, obscuring your genuine self in relationships.

Authentic love isn't a bidding war but a mutual profound alignment. Successful romance isn’t simply two high PR valued individuals merging but where both feel secure, valued, and nurtured within the relationship.

Genuine liberation stems from halting self-market pricing, denying PR value definitions.

Your worth isn't predicated upon financial digits, weight figures, or the head count of admirers. Worth solely resides in how you treat yourself and the depth of sincerity and kindness you extend to cherished relationships. By refraining from viewing yourself as a marketed commodity and focusing on fostering inner stability and wisdom, you invite someone attuned to your complete value, transcending any market labels.

Genuine wealth lies in feeling whole regardless of external validation.