Blackpink's Jennie reveals dating principles: "I don't reach out to men first"

Blackpink's Jennie has revealed her principles regarding dating and communication. She stated that she rarely reaches out first and that even sending two consecutive messages would be a highly unusual occurrence for her. Her remarks, which are difficult to dismiss as mere "dating techniques," reflect an attitude that values reciprocity, personal boundaries, and respect for the other person in a relationship.

Appearing on the official Cosmopolitan YouTube channel's "Blind Date" segment recently, Jennie shared various stories about dating and human relationships with editor-in-chief Willa Bennett.

When the host presented a scenario where "a man keeps changing his Facebook status but takes several hours to reply to my text," Jennie reacted immediately. She showed a firm stance, saying, "No. That is a red flag."

She continued, emphasizing, "He changes his Facebook status but doesn't reply? That is all wrong. We should receive respect and love from men."

What Jennie identified as a problem was not simply the speed of the reply. She seemed to focus on the fact that being active online while failing to respond to a specific person can be interpreted as an issue of priority and respect within a relationship.

Particularly in today's era, where smartphones and SNS have become the core medium of human relationships, "read receipts" and "reply times" sometimes act as informal indicators to gauge the other person's emotions and level of interest. The phenomenon of checking a person's SNS activity and inferring its meaning during the hours spent waiting for a reply after sending a message is also a facet of digital dating culture.

Jennie stated that in such situations, she chooses to maintain her own boundaries rather than constantly sending messages to attract the other person's attention.

When the host asked, "Do you send another text when a reply doesn't come?" Jennie laughed and said, "I don't even send the first text."

She added, "Sending two texts in a row is a really big move for me. Unless it's an emergency, that is."

While her expression was somewhat lighthearted, it revealed Jennie's clear standards for relationships. Rather than forcing a reaction from the other person, she intends to treat her own time and emotions with value.

However, Jennie drew a line, noting that she does not interpret all delays in replies negatively. "If they aren't replying due to personal circumstances, I respect that. I respect their time," she said, acknowledging the other person's situation and privacy.

Even so, she reiterated, "But the Facebook status message is absolutely a no." In other words, she viewed the situation not as the delay in contact itself, but as the act of continuously postponing communication with a specific person while engaging in other online activities.

These remarks connect to the "reciprocity of relationships," a topic frequently discussed in recent dating culture. A healthy relationship does not stem from one-sided interest or emotional labor, but from the sense that both parties are allocating time and attention to each other.

Particularly in the SNS era, as the other person's online activity is exposed in real-time, anxiety and comparison regarding the relationship can be amplified. In the past, it was difficult to know what the other person was doing, but now, one can partially verify their daily life through SNS posts, login traces, and status messages. Because of this, the meaning of "waiting" in a romantic relationship has also changed from the past.

Jennie's remarks can be read as a way of setting her own psychological boundaries in this digital environment. Rather than constantly monitoring or interpreting the other person's behavior, she intends to clarify her own principles of action and observe what kind of attitude the other person takes toward the relationship.

Of course, the principles revealed by Jennie are not absolute rules that can be applied to all romantic relationships. The frequency of contact and the speed of replies can vary greatly depending on individual personality, the stage of the relationship, and lifestyle patterns. Ultimately, what matters is not how many minutes it took to reply, but how well the two people can respect and coordinate each other's expectations and boundaries.

Nevertheless, the reason Jennie's remarks are garnering attention is due to her unique status as a global star. As a member of Blackpink with a worldwide fandom, Jennie is an individual whose even everyday remarks expand into cultural discourse beyond just fashion and music.

While these remarks could be consumed as a lighthearted topic titled "Jennie's Dating Method," they contain cultural clues showing what the younger generation values in romantic relationships today.

It is not the act of not contacting first or not sending consecutive messages that is important. It is about not excessively consuming one's own emotions to elicit a response, while simultaneously leaving space for the other person to have their own time. What Jennie emphasized was ultimately closer to relationship balance than "dating techniques."

And when she feels that balance has been broken, Jennie chooses to step back. Her joke about sending two consecutive texts being a "big move" may contain one of the most difficult virtues in modern dating: self-boundary.