Are We Still Offended by PDA?

I can't help but feel that a huge shift in our collective take on public behavior is in order right about now.

Many of us have been conditioned not to feel too many feelings in public, even if we feel them. I mean, like while we're around real, non virtual, in-the-flesh people who are relative strangers. And I can without a doubt see the merit in being tasteful and private. Even more so now that we're actually encouraged to attach an "is feeling..." to each photo we post from each location we visit and each dessert we order as we present them to 1000 of our closest friends. I can see the merit in updating a few norms, both in-person and virtual, and to adding a few filters to our social media behavior so that content leads more towards the meaningful or truly entertaining.

This brings me to something that strikes me as worth putting out there regarding Public Displays of Affection (PDA).

Let us take all that is going on in the world today (and I'm sorry to bring it up). And all those horrific things that have happened in the past. And all of the changes we have yet to make in order to make our world a better place in which to exist, not to mention the list of disturbing views, policies and laws that I’m not mentioning here. In the context of all that, is PDA still something to be called out rather than be favored?

Here’s my thought regarding PDA: when you see two individuals engaging in a loving public display of affection and that thing pops up in your mind that wants to say: ‘Get a room,’ maybe it’s that time in our evolutionary journey to reframe that discomfort and say: Cheers. Here are two people that do not need a donation from me today, who are not bullying anyone, hurting any feelings, or causing any actual form of physical harm, much less randomly taking anyone's life, or rights, or creating an international human crisis. They're not even posting a photo of the foamed heart in their coffee. What's more, they're pleased about their lot in the world at this very moment. Two down, roughly 7.9 billion to go.