'Yearners' Are Sick of Playing It Cool on Dating Apps

On TikTok, Gyasi Alexander likes to hold "yap sessions" about all sorts of vulnerable topics--self-image issues, anxiety, why you shouldn't romanticize forgiveness. He started posting videos like that last summer, following the end of an 11-year relationship, after a group of friends encouraged him to use the platform as an outlet to talk about his healing process. Lately, though, the 28-year-old retail sales worker who lives in Providence, Rhode Island, has decided to fully embrace, and talk about, his most vulnerable trait--being a yearner. "Yearning is a little bit different from love in that it's more intense," he says. It feels like you're constantly reaching for more.