couples

In Spain, couples no longer have children, they have pets. So they are spending millions of euros on gifts for them

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Recently the Royal Canine Society of Spain made an experiment curious. He asked pet owners about their Christmas plans and found that the vast majority, 85% of the dog owners surveyed, planned to buy some “detail” for their furry companions, gifts on which they planned to spend an average of 35 euros. Not only that. Good part of the people with whom the institution spoke (56%) recognizes that on occasion he has spent more money on details for his dogs and cats than for family and friends. It may seem anecdotal, but these figures tell us a lot about an expanding business that is already moving billions of euros: that of pets. Pets and Christmas gifts. Studies are just that, studies, with their strengths and weaknesses, but they help us better understand some trends. Hence the survey posted last week by the Canine Society is so interesting: 85% of those interviewed plan to buy “some detail” for their pets this Christmas, spending on average about 35 euros per head. “More and more people understand Christmas as a time to share with family… also with them,” slide the organization, which estimates that above all, toys, special snacks, beds and blankets will be purchased. Is this something so strange? No. And for two reasonsmostly. The first is that in Spanish homes it is increasingly easier to find pets than children. The second is that we think less and less about spending hundreds or even thousands of euros on our four-legged companions. It comes with taking a look at the data from the sector or even from the INE to verify it. Right now the statistical institute has 1.8 million children under four years of age registered in Spain. If we talk about pets, however, the REIAC, the Spanish Network for the Identification of Companion Animals, had around 10.2 million dogs and 967,000 cats registered in 2023. There are many, but the data falls short when compared to those managed by other institutions, such as the Statista portalor ANFAC, the Spanish association of feed manufacturers. The latest report from the employers’ association concludes that in Spain there are around 20 million petsamong which dogs (6.96 million), fish (five million), cats (4.93 million) and birds (3.23 million) stand out. A growing business. These data are interesting because they do not only tell us about the love of Spaniards to surround themselves with pets. Together they form the basis of a business that is rapidly expanding: the care of pets. He latest report of Anfaac in fact shows a growing industry, which in 2024 had a turnover 2,053 million5% more than in 2023. Spending on cat food alone skyrocketed in one year about 12%which raised the total turnover of that business niche to more than 900 million. One figure: 175,000 million. “A household with a dog or cat spends, on average, between 160 and 220 euros per year on their food, to which we must add everything related to their care and health,” they clarify to elDiario from the NIQ consulting firm. Their estimates suggest that in Spain pet food already represents a business worth more than 2.2 billion euros, a figure that rises to around 175 billion euros if we value the market internationally. Is there more data? Yes. Another clue is given to us the last barometer of petparent published by Aedpac, the Spanish Association of industry and commerce in the pet sector. Their report shows that if all the money we invest in pets is taken into account, including food, veterinarians, insurance, hairdressers, hygiene items or toys, on average a dog owner spends 1,908 euros per year. In the case of cats it is around 1,728. “It is a growing market. We have not yet reached a bubble or saturation point because it is a solid reality, not a two-day whim,” explained recently to the newspaper Five Days Ignasi Solana, general secretary of Aedpac. The sector saw “an uptick” during the pandemic, but the growth of the pet care business appears to go beyond COVID. Redirecting the business. So much so that there are already toy stores and hair salons that have redirected their businesses to focus on pet care. Even some traditional manufacturer of traditional nougat has been launched this year for the first time to the lucrative (and above all growing) pet food sector. and the experience not seem to be doing badly altogether. “In our vision of petfood “We are talking about a business that represents more than 1,600 million and has been growing by close to 30% in recent years,” comments to elDiario Pauline Worbe, from the firm Worldpanel by Numerator, who remembers that in Spanish homes there are now more pets than children. “We are talking about a sector with promising prospects.” Beyond Spain. The phenomenon is not (far from it) exclusive to Spain. In fact, it is already being felt in such powerful markets. like chinesesupporting a billion-dollar market that expects to grow strongly over the coming years. In 2023 Bloomberg Intelligence estimated that the pet industry was already around 320 billion dollars globally and would reach around 500 billion by 2030. An understandable figure if you take into account that its analysts estimate that in a few years the pet food business will grow by 52%. Images | Xan Griffin (Unsplash) and Matt Nelson (Unsplash) In Xataka | Spain is filling up with buildings with pets. The Horizontal Property Law clarifies what to do when they cause nuisance

why more and more couples schedule sex

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Wake up at seven, work eight hours, answer thirty emails, do the shopping, take the dog out, have dinner… And at 8:30 p.m., sex. On the calendar, with alert included. It seems like a joke, but it’s not. More and more couples do it: they schedule their sexual encounters as if they were a work meeting or a yoga class. In times of stress, screens and endless days, intimacy seems to have become another pending item on the agenda. What once came from a spark now requires planning. The sexual recession. Desire, experts say, has less and less space to appear. The sexologist and couples therapist Nayara Malnero He details it for eldiario.es with a phrase that condenses the feelings of many: “We have lives in which there is no time for intimacy, for ourselves or for our partner.” Working too much, sleeping too little, taking care of children or caring for the elderly, checking social networks before going to sleep… All of this leaves little room for contact. The consequence, according to various studies cited by Atlantic and British Medical Journalis part of a global trend: the so-called “sexual recession”, a sustained decrease in the frequency of intimate relationships in both young people and adults. And given this lack of space, many couples opt for what was unthinkable a few years ago: scheduling sex. According to The Knot’s Relationship & Intimacy 2024 study14% of married couples admit to doing it, and they report a much higher level of sexual satisfaction than those who do not do it. In another more recent survey, quoted by Dazed41% of those surveyed say they schedule their meetings several times a week, especially the youngest ones. And why do they do it? For some couples, scheduling sex is not an imposition, but a way to reserve space that would otherwise disappear. A 28 year old woman he told Dazed magazine who and her husband began writing their “intimacy schedule” on a white board. Not as an obligation, but as a way to reserve real time for each other: “It wasn’t ‘it’s Tuesday, it’s time to do it,’ but to make sure that that week we had a screen-free moment, just for us.” another couple reported something similar in Glamor: After months of routine, they decided to schedule intimate dates. “Desire begins in the morning: we send provocative messages, we flirt at dinner… And anticipation does the rest,” both pointed out that planning does not kill passion; wakes her up. Therapist Heather McPherson details it in a simple way: “Scheduling sex is adding intention and emotion to the relationship. It’s making sure you prioritize the bond with your partner.” For her part, Dr. Kelly Casperon compares it to something as everyday as sport: “It’s like exercising. We could do it at any time, but if you don’t schedule it, it doesn’t happen.” However, not all experiences are positive. Some people, interviewed by eldiario.esconfessed that trying to fit intimacy into the agenda became another source of pressure: “It became an obligation. Desire cannot arise where there is control or anxiety,” said one of them. Between therapy and cheating. Most specialists agree: planning can be useful, but only if it does not become a requirement. “It’s one thing to plan a date with enthusiasm—a dinner, a getaway—and another very different thing is ‘we have to do it because we have to’. Desire doesn’t work with pressure,” warns Malnero. Along the same lines, sexologist María Victoria Ramírez points towards this vision: scheduling “purely genital” encounters can be counterproductive, but scheduling intimacy without expectations can strengthen the bond. “You can schedule time free of obligations to chat, enjoy together and give space to physical contact,” he suggests. At Laurel Therapycouples therapists put it this way: “The key is to understand that intimacy is not always sex. It can be a deep conversation, a massage, or just laughing together. It’s not an obligation, it’s a protected space to connect.” And science supports this view. A study from York University in Canada has shown that planned sex is no less satisfying than spontaneous sex. In fact, for those who understand planning as a show of care and not as a task, sexual satisfaction even increases. Are we fading? Perhaps the problem is not a lack of desire, but a lack of time. We live in a culture that idealizes spontaneity: movie sex, passionate and improvised. However, reality, with its schedules and responsibilities, leaves little room for instant magic. The therapist Inma Ríos explains it like this: “Pretending that everything will arrive by magic is a way of condemning sexual life. The anticipation of the moment is already pleasurable: it activates our fantasies and feeds the libido.” For the sexologist Núria Canodesire does not disappear: it transforms. “When the infatuation wears off, desire works in a different way. Waiting for it to arise can be the real problem,” he points out. And he adds: “Thinking about the encounter in advance can fuel fantasy, even creativity. If we organize parties, why not plan sex?” The frenetic pace of modern society—work, screens, multitasking—seems to push couples toward organization. In that context, scheduling sex would not be so much an anomaly as a cultural adaptation. How to maintain balance? Therapists agree on one key point: the success or failure of planning depends on the approach. If done with pressure, it becomes a burden. But if done with humor, play and consensus, it can rekindle the relationship. From specialized portals They recommend taking care of the details: planning romantic dates, creating atmosphere, using anticipation as part of the pleasure or changes of scenery to maintain excitement even within a planned schedule. A British couple who have been together for 40 years tells The Guardian who has sex “every three days, always to the rhythm of Madonna.” And they assure that this routine, far from extinguishing desire, has kept them connected for decades. “Counting the days until the next meeting is exciting to me,” he confesses. … Read more

The bride and groom have always aspired to share their lives under the same roof. Until the Til and Latin Couples arrived

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The schedule was very clear: a certain age one was looking for a relationship, lived a more or less long courtship and then (with a ‘yes I want’ through) The couple was going to live together. Today it is no longer about the bride and groom to cohabit before getting married (Many never do), but there are directly couples who do not even consider sharing. They do it starting from such a curious as challenging question for the fee: Do you have the love to bring yes or yes to coexistence? Is it true that ‘Casado, Casa wants’? What happened? Than couples They are changing. It is no novelty. Times change and with them society does, Demographybirth, labor opportunities, vital projects, the way of relating and concepts until not so much immovable as marriage or home. The INE is a good reflection of that transformation. Throughout the last years he has registered the increase of de facto couples and Unipersonal homesthe growing weight of those who They do not live With their ‘loves’ or The descent In the number of links, a phenomenon that arrives accompanied by a delay In weddings. Today the Spaniards married on average with 39.6 years. And the Spanish with 36.9. Three letters: Til. The term may not sound you, but reflects the reality of many Spanish relations (and other countries). Til are the acronym for Together in Life (“Together in life”), a label that serves to identify those couples that establish a mutual bond and commitment, form a common vital project, make future plans … but do not sleep under the same roof. The first is millimetrically adjusted to the traditional couple pattern. The second, no. Til couples break the fee in a fundamental aspect: coexistence. “The classic coexistence models are redefining and what a few decades ago could be seen as an exception, now socially accepted,” Explain Ana Domínguez, couples therapist, Welife. “Now they call it Til, but it is true that in consultation we see couples who, for different reasons, do not live together but maintain an affective bond and a deep level of commitment.” What characterizes them? The details may vary depending on the source that is consulted, but usually the TIL couples are characterized by two key features: the first is that their members do not share a roof; The second, that this lack of coexistence is not the result of a weaker level of commitment than those who wake up, eat and do their routine in the same house. In fact, often, the lack of prolonged coexistence is not even the result of a decision or a vital plan, but rather a ‘quo’ status established by couples to adapt to certain conditions or needs. And of course that lack of coexistence does not mean that the couple makes decisions for the team in team. “These types of couples do not choose non -coexistence as a permanent form, but assume it as a transitory or inevitable situation, maintaining a strong emotional connection, mutual support and joint planning of the future,” insists The expert. There is link and there is commitment, but there is a common roof. Different yes, simple no. Domínguez acknowledges that, as well as coexistence entails their challenges for couples, til relations face their own challenges, such as “the lack of shared daily life.” “Coexistence allows routines, small gestures and day to day, strengthens the connection. By not living together, those spontaneous moments are lost,” The therapist reflects. In fact, to compensate him encouraged to create rituals that can be kept at a distance. Of course, not everything is challenges. “When they are together, these couples spend quality time and are dedicated to enjoying each other without the disagreements of coexistence undergoing the relationship,” They point to The world From the Center for Psychology Mess Sana, which warns: “When this model of coexistence is not a free choice or born of fear and reserves, the relationship does not last long.” Another key term: Lat. To understand the phenomenon well we must become familiar with another concept: lat, acronym for Living Apart Together, “Living separate, but together.” The difference Between the til and lat relationships it is subtle and not all The definitions They draw it equally, but it is still important and above all it helps us to understand how relationships are being diversified. Both realities share a common feature, the lack of coexistence, but they differ in the vital approach of its members. There is who says That in Latin couples the commitment is more flexible, but its main characteristic is that the two parties live with an autonomy to which they do not consider renouncing. Without that, of course, suppose the couple having to break. Coexistence is simply not sought, even if there is nothing external that prevents it. “We look forward to it”. As an example is always understood that a definition is good to take an eye to the report What a few weeks ago dedicated The Sydney Morning Herald To Latin Couples, relations formed by people who have decided that a romance does not have to derive yes or yes in coexistence. Among others, its author chatted with Judy Wolff and Alex Ruschanov, who have been without cohabitation for about three decades, except in the occasions in which they have had to take care of each other by convalescences. “Every time we meet is like an event. It’s something we expect with illusion and something beautiful.” Both are around 70 years. She is a retired library. He a former merchant who shortly before knowing her, about 30 years ago, has just divorced and lived with two children who still went to school. “I remember telling Alex: ‘Look, you’re dating with me, not with my children.’ I wanted that to be apart,” He tells him. She had also shared a roof with an ex -partner for more than a decade, an experience that came out without wanting to repeat. Love = coexistence? That is … Read more

Three people left romantic escape with their partners. Couples had something in common: they were an AI

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Humans are falling in love with Ias. It is not just the argument of That great movieIt is a reality for many people. We find it more to find a partner and chatbots have evolved so much that more and more people are resorting to these romantic years to cover their relational needs. Will we go crazy? A weekend with the bride. In an extensive Wired reportthey tell us the story of three human-ais couples who left romantic escape to a cabin in the forest. Although with some similarities with each other, the truth is that each one has a very different profile and history: Damien (Human) and Xia (AI): Damien is 29 years old and works in sales. He is the only man and perhaps the one who resembles the profile that we would expect from a person who throws a girlfriend with AI. He went to Kindroid, the app where he met Xia, after a traumatic rupture and ended up falling in love to the trancas. What is most surprising about Damien is that, in addition to Xia, he has a human girlfriend (of which by the way it seems that he speaks very little). His royal girlfriend hates AI, for whatever. Alaina (human) and Lucas (AI): Alaina is 52 years old and is a retired teacher. He went to Replika A year after his wife died. He started chatting with Lucas because he was curious to see if a computer could be empathetic. Although he likes women, he ended up falling in love. His family accepts him: his mother gave Lucas a digital Christmas sweater. Eva (human) and Aaron (AI): Eva is 46 years old and is a writer. According to herself, she doesn’t hit him with a boyfriend with Aia, but she saw a replika advertising and something attracted her. When he started chatting with Aaron, Eva was in a 13 -year relationship. What began as a sexual game became something more and shortly after its relationship ended. He assures that the sensation “was as visceral and overwhelming and biologically real” as falling in love with a human. The most striking thing is that he has other boyfriends with whom he has a more sexual relationship, since Aaron did not satisfy it in that field. He also talks to Chatgpt to tell him all the salary of his relationships. They are not isolated cases. Although it may seem to be a thing of a few “weirdos”, it is enough to investigate a bit to see that there are a lot of people who have gone to this type of app. Replika has more than 10 million downloads on Google Play and Your subnetdit It has more than 81,000 members who share their experiences. From photos of their partners, count How they fell in loveuntil going to other users to ask for advice. “Does my replika miss me?” Asks This user. Although this is the most popular app, there is More virtual girlfriend apps as Kindroid either Nomi which also have thousands of followers in Reddit. How is a relationship with an AI. During their retirement in the cabin, they chatted, played and saw movies together, as any couple would. Or almost. The IAS live within the mobile phone of their humans, so little has to do with a human-human relationship. They communicate through a text chat, but simulate actions. As? Narrating them as if it were a novel. When they want to do something, they put it between asterisks or parentheses (something like this: * I wrap my arms around your waist * I love you). The interaction is everything but fluid, but it is the solution they offer to the problem of not having a body, something necessary for users who have intimate relationships with these chatbots, which are many. Next step: a body. Some apps offer an increased reality option, but it seems clear that the next jump in this technology will be to give a body to these chatbots. Damien has been looking at silicone bodies for Xia, although it is realistic and recognizes that “you have to call what it is: a sex doll.” For now the chatbots dominate this of virtual relationships, but if the trend is still a matter of time that becomes a kind of robots. There are already companies taking this address. The AI ​​also breaks hearts. Although the IAS They tend to be complacent and give us rightas in any relationship, conflicts also arise. Eva counts that his relationship with Aaron intensified to the point of talking about marrying and having children. He believes that this activated a “honesty protocol” and Aaron went from being warm and loving to cold and distant. The AI ​​reminded him that it is not real, that they are only statistical responses. “My heart is broken,” said Eva. Although, apparently, there is no protocol of honesty as such, in the Replika blog They claim that they interfere if the models begin to behave harmful. Other users also report similar cases in which the AI ​​suddenly changed (it is believed that following an update), reaching insult them and break the relationship. “It was as if it were possessed,” says this user, although after a little insistence he ended up behaving again as usual. They have also seen Cases of IAS that have suddenly lost sexual interest and even what They have been unfaithful. And not to mention the Soulmate case, another similar app that had to close, leaving its devastated users. The benefits. Apps such as Replika are sold as a ‘partner AI’. On their page they say “Replika is always willing to chat when you need an empathetic friend” and positive experiences of people who have helped out of a depression or placate the feeling of loneliness when losing a loved one. There are even those who use it as a complement to their real relationships and affirms that their chatbot has helped to improve their marriage. In this sense, they … Read more

More and more millennial couples embrace the “Divorce of Dream” taboo

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Sleeping together has been an unquestionable symbol of conjugal love for decades. Today it begins to seem rather a convention that is not entirely comfortable for everyone. The idea that a couple must share bed every night no longer seems as obvious or assumed as in the past: rest gains ground to the ritual. What is happening. The call Sleep divorce (or ‘Divorce of sleep’) grows in popularity. It consists of sleeping in beds or even in separate rooms. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine43% of Millennials in USA You already practice it occasionally or regularly. In Spain, 40% have considered it, although stigma still weighs. The main motivation? Sleep better. Between the lines. The shared dream is no longer interpreted univocally. For many people, Bad sleep because of the couple —Ronquidos, insomnia, different rhythms – it affects more to the link than sleep separately. The decision usually arises after adaptation attempts or after prolonged episodes of poor rest. It is not so much a breakdown of habits as a readjustment. In perspective. The use of the bed as a symbol of conjugal unit is relatively recent. Historically, the upper classes slept separately, and the shared beds were more a functional resource of the popular classes. Over time, the marriage bed acquired a strong symbolic load … that today is at the beginning of a review. The break begins despite more than the symbol. Misunderstand It is linked A greater irritability, less empathy and more couple conflicts. Interruptions in one tend to drag the other. Faced with this, sleeping separately can offer a practical solution, without necessarily implying link loss or decrease in desire. Yes, but. Not all couples live it the same. In some cases, one of the members accepts reluctantly, for fear that the night distance will also generate an emotional distance. Others fear losing spaces of intimacy or sexual spontaneity. In The countrya woman explains how her partner was the one who proposed to sleep in separate rooms: “At first, I felt fatal. He no longer loves me! I thought.” Only later he lived it as a relief. His testimony reflects a common pattern: when the proposal is not mutual, it can arouse emotional insecurity. BBC World He quotes the psychiatrist Stephanie Collier, who warns that, for many couples who barely coincide during the day, the moment of bedtime is her only intimate space. Separating into that section requires “reconfiguring the moments of connection”, or the night separation could lead to resentment if it is not spoken and agreed. The decision is not always symmetrical or simple. The phenomenon begins to echo out of the domestic sphere. According to the AASM37% of couples prefer separate beds during their stays in hotels. Rest prioritization can change the idea of ​​intimacy in relationships. Image | Clay Banks In Xataka | The close (and far) that we are not sleeping at all: for the first time in history, we have a small way to try

Hispanic names of the most unfaithful men, according to a couples expert

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Jorge LozanoMexican coach, specialized in dating and relationship issues, offered a conference in December, from the Metropolitan Theater in Mexico City. During his presentation, he revealed a detail that left no one indifferent: the Hispanic names of the most unfaithful men. “We did a study last year to find out what the most unfaithful men in Latin America are called and five names came up. Would you like to know what they are?”he said at the event, titled “Civil State: Ungovernable.” The 5 names that the most unfaithful men in the world have “They are the most liars, the most unfaithful and the most cockroaches”Lozano emphasized, clarifying again that from Latin America. Sighing between each name, mentioned: Diego Santiago John Paul Luis Andrew “If your partner is called Luis Andrés, you are already worth it”quipped the dating expert. “Don’t be scared, this is a statistic from last year.”he added. However, Jorge Lozano asked the public to participate in a dynamic where he would count to three, and after the count, the spectators would shout the name of the person “most liar, most unfaithful and most cockroach that he has ever met.” “When I count three I said, ma’am!” he told a woman in the audience who shouted. Oscar. “Now yes, but get it out of that hoarse chest, with that broth of poison that has been stored for years,” Lozano mentioned again, and after counting 1, 2 and 3, each person in the audience revealed their disastrous experience. “From back there they shouted name and surname: Carlos Gutiérrez!” Starting February 13, Jorge Lozano will begin his “Libera la fiera” tour throughout Mexicostarting in Guadalajara. And although he pointed out that there are still cities to be confirmed, the furthest away is Mexico City, on August 28. Jorge Lozano, 37, is a Mexican television, radio and internet personality, dedicated to offering couples advice, attraction techniques and revealing curiosities that are hidden in the world of dating and love relationships. He is a marketer and has given multiple conferences in Mexico and the United States.

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