New photo series captures gay millennial love in the digital age

A recent Gallup poll found that more and more millennials report being single and living alone–up from 52 percent in 2004 to 64 percent in 2014–despite still expressing “a significant desire for marriage.”

In his latest photo project, 22-year-old photographer Leo Chang explores what it means to be a gay millennial man trying to make meaningful connections in the age of social media.

“I do think the biggest challenge to intimacy is being so aware of oneself,” he tells the Advocate. “When you’re so aware of yourself, you just have less energy available to be present and to receive information about this other person with whom you might have a relationship.”

“I suspect that anyone who is social media–fluent develops a kind of self-awareness that I just don’t think previous generations had, or had to have, or knew how to have.”

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Chang’s subjects are mostly couples he knows who are close to his age and who have managed to successful cultivate romantic relationships both in thanks and in spite of the distractions of the digital age.

 

Chang hopes by highlighting these couples and the private moments of tenderness they share, he can help move other millennials closer to a world where love and intimacy, in all its forms, is not just accessible but also celebrated publicly.

Related: More and more gay Millennials are resurrecting monogamy from the dead

“It’s a slow process to make progress,” he says, “but change is possible. I already think there is a bridging of the gap, slowly, between what love can look like in private and what it can look like in public.”

Scroll down for more photos…

call me by your name, and i’ll call you by mine?? #35mm

A post shared by LEO CHANG (@theleochang) on Feb 21, 2018 at 4:16pm PST

shot these two lovebirds today for my thesis exploring gay millennial relationships ??? any recommendations on what i should name the book? {feat. paul + shane} #nyc

A post shared by LEO CHANG (@theleochang) on Mar 4, 2018 at 2:39pm PST

{millennial love chp. 3}: trevor + austin ?? "we matched on @bumble about a week after he had just moved to the city. we met up for drinks soon after (he made me choose the spot, which i hate!) but we ended up seeing la la land later that night because we hit it off so well. i liked him right off the bat because of his dramatic flair, but i fell in love with him because of his passion for life and everyone around him. our interests are so different (he works in advertising and i am in grad school studying epidemiology) but i love this man to death and i’m so happy i get to call him mine!" with @austindwhittle & @clevertrevorofficial ???? #happybelatednationalboyfriendday

A post shared by LEO CHANG (@theleochang) on Oct 4, 2017 at 3:24pm PDT

ok you two like… not fair? ? #millenniallove

A post shared by LEO CHANG (@theleochang) on Mar 25, 2018 at 11:54am PDT

ok just another one because jack's legs didn't fit in the square ahem ?????????? cheers to these two wonderful guys for being the first couple in my {millennial love} photo series!! ??? if y'all know any cute couples who want to share their story, give me a holler ?

A post shared by LEO CHANG (@theleochang) on Jul 19, 2017 at 2:07pm PDT

i’m looking for more gay couples to shoot in nyc or los angeles so if you’re interested, slide into those dm’s babes ?????? {feat. adam + auden, shot for my photo book on gay millennial love.} ?

A post shared by LEO CHANG (@theleochang) on Feb 25, 2018 at 11:56am PST