Discussion what does the phrase "I love you" mean to you?

[watashiwastar]

it means nothing to me personally. i feel nothing, really. in the sense that the concept of love cannot be understood through a phrase as simple as "I love you". we have entire languages at our disposal, and yet this is the phrase we choose to repeat to our partners?

i don't expect everyone to be a poet, but it is funny how trite the typical conventions of romance are to me.

i am a rather avoidant person, so i would like to hear other people's thoughts on this phrase.

 

[copioushopelessness]

Means nothing when the people who've said it to me abused me. How quickly one can go from I hate you to I love you then back around again. I hate the cycle.
Like you said, all these words and that's all we can come up with and other cliché phrases.

 

[watashiwastar]

this.
a phrase a person tells you to abuse you.
or, a phrase a person impetuously tells you, while they themselves have no understanding of it.

 

[LonelyPrince]

it means nothing to me personally. i feel nothing, really. in the sense that the concept of love cannot be understood through a phrase as simple as "I love you". we have entire languages at our disposal, and yet this is the phrase we choose to repeat to our partners?

i don't expect everyone to be a poet, but it is funny how trite the typical conventions of romance are to me.

i am a rather avoidant person, so i would like to hear other people's thoughts on this phrase.

It means nothing to me either. When people say it to me, I don't feel anything. It just feels like a formal greeting. I think it's just me though: after being let down so many times.
Love Is shown through actions, not words.

 

[takuyangel]

usually a lie . a gesture of reassurance and projection, as the person saying it probably just wants to hear it back. i wish it held as much meaning as it did in movies.

 

[Reeds]

It doesn't mean anything to me either! It makes other people happy though, so I guess I'm grateful how easy it is to use those words.

 

[TrulyNeverCertain]

It's really hard to pin down.
Family members seem to just say it to each other, almost like a familial greeting.

But for me, if I were to say it to someone, it would probably be to someone I deeply and truly cared about. Someone I had known for a very long time, and had an incredible amount of faith and trust in. Not really something I say because there's not someone I can honestly say it to.
Edit: So a ride-or-die best friend, or a very good romantic partner

 

[Forveleth]

"I am saying this to emotionally manipulate you into living the life I want you to live"