Forced Proximity

So i didnt know that cinlok is the same term for "forced proximity". the first time i found this term, it was on tiktok and it was a person who commented like "forced proximity isnt real" to a content about someone finding her coworker cute. and i was like "hold on, what do you mean forced proximity? sounds very technical to me. then i did some research on tiktok, and it was about 2 people forced to be in a situation or place for a longer time, and it make them very close in physically and emotionally. then they're finally got bond together, in romantic or friendship way. 

(dipseastories.com)

it can be being in a the same team, workplace, or school. being a roomates or contract marriage. and it can be going in a trip together. oh i almost forgot, a kidnapping trope...

anyway i found it interesting because, almost all romance stories that i know used this kind of trope. even there was a story about friendship with this trope like LOTR. but forced proximity is really giving us a true bond though.

i am in a friendship with college friends because we are classmates and we both going through all this college life together both in hard times or leisure times. then we're now very close, i mean not physically anymore cause we all now separated. but still if we meet up someday, the closeness and bond still there.

there is some study to explain it.

forbes.com

oxytocin can make us motivate our actions. and it makes us protective and supportive with our members team which creates strong bonds.

anyway forced proximity is a neutral term, it is not just for romantic situation. but 'cinlok' itself included in forced proximity terminology. yet novel readers or booktok lovers make this term sounds more just for romantic trope. but no. this term is very broader. is an umbrella term for peoples who going through some specific actions together for a bit long.

--------CHAT GPT CORRECTION---

I didn’t know that cinlok is basically the same as the “forced proximity” trope. The first time I saw this term was on TikTok, in a comment that said, “forced proximity isn’t real” under a video about someone finding her coworker cute. My reaction was: “Hold on—what do you mean forced proximity? That sounds super technical.”

After doing a bit of TikTok research, I learned that it means two people are put into a situation or place where they have to spend a lot of time together. Over time, that closeness makes them bond—physically and emotionally—until they eventually become connected, either romantically or platonically.

It can happen in so many scenarios: being on the same team, working in the same office, sharing a dorm, a contract marriage, going on a trip together… oh, and of course the classic “kidnapping trope.”

I found it interesting because almost every romance story I know uses this trope in some way. But it’s not just about love—there are friendship examples too, like Lord of the Rings. Forced proximity really does create strong bonds.

I’ve experienced it myself with my college friends. We were classmates, going through the same struggles and fun moments together. That built our closeness. Even now that we’re separated, whenever we meet up, the bond is still there.

There’s even some science behind it. According to Forbes, oxytocin motivates our actions, and it makes us protective and supportive of our teammates. That’s how strong bonds are formed.

So, forced proximity is actually a neutral term—it’s not only about romance. Cinlok falls under it, but BookTok and romance readers often frame it as purely romantic. In reality, it’s much broader—an umbrella term for people who go through a specific shared experience long enough to create a connection.