Posted March 14, Reviewed by Devon Frye. Friends with benefits FWB relationships are more common on college campuses than ever before. These relationships are often viewed as a simple way to have casual sex and appeal to many people because they can sexually experiment without commitment. But in reality, FWB relationships are much more diverse.
Some people will use a FWB relationship as a trial for future commitments or use them to transition out of an exclusive relationship. Other times, FWB relationships are merely used for serial hookupsβall the sex with none of the emotions. Though there are many different motivations for starting FWB relationships, which are often viewed as easy , most are complicated.
What makes FWB even more complex is that both partners may not view the relationship the same way or have the same goals. The way that casual sex is engaged in and talked about on college campuses has changed over the decades. College students are far more accepting of FWB relationshipsβand even though some people keep their FWB hush-hush, most are open with their friends about their relationship status.
In a recent study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior , college students reported on the rules in their FWB relationship. In this study, 80 percent of the participants said that they explicitly talked to their FWB partner about rules. The rules varied dramatically, representing a shift in the way that people might handle their casual sex relationships.
Yet some common themes emerged, including the six rules below. Clearly, FWB relationships are not as simple as they appear. Whatever your reasons are for starting a FWB relationship, your best bet is to be open with your partner. Let them know what you are looking for, and if anything changes, be transparent with them about it. After all, those changes might benefit the relationship in the long run.
