Young adults born between 1997 and 2012 report higher levels of romantic frustration than their parents did at the same age. The numbers back this up. A July 2025 Forbes Health survey found that more than half of Gen Z feels burned out “often or always” while using dating apps.
No other age group reported burnout at this rate. Meanwhile, data from the 2024 General Social Survey, analyzed by the Institute for Family Studies, shows sexlessness among adults aged 18-29 doubled from 12% to 24% between 2010 and 2024. Something has gone wrong, and the people living through it can feel it.
Fewer Relationships, Earlier On
The Survey Center on American Life tracked romantic histories across generations. Their findings show that only 56% of Gen Z adults had a romantic relationship during their teenage years. Among Gen Z men specifically, 44% had no relationship at all before turning 20. That rate is double what older generations reported.
This gap matters because early romantic attempts, even failed ones, build familiarity with rejection, communication, and compromise. Without those formative moments, many young people enter their 20s without a working sense of how to pursue or maintain a relationship.
What People Actually Want From Relationships Now
Gen Z approaches dating with a wider set of expectations than previous generations did. Some seek long-term commitment early, while others prefer arrangements built around specific needs or circumstances. You don’t have to be a sugar daddy to offer stability in a relationship, and you don’t have to follow traditional timelines to form meaningful connections.
The 2024 General Social Survey shows sexlessness among adults aged 18-29 doubled from 12% to 24% between 2010 and 2024, suggesting many young people are stepping back entirely.
This generation’s expectations vary widely. Some want conventional romance, others want companionship without labels, and many remain uncertain about what they want at all. Hinge data shows 70% of Gen Z in the UK feel anxiety about meeting people in person, a gap attributed to pandemic-era limits on social development. The result is a generation still figuring out what dating means to them.
The App Problem
Dating apps promised efficiency. Swipe, match, meet. In practice, they introduced new sources of friction. A large portion of Gen Z began dating during or after 2020, which meant their earliest attempts at connection happened through screens. The transition to real-world interaction proved harder than expected.
Hinge’s own research found that 85% of Gen Z in the UK reported loneliness. Seventy percent said they felt anxious about meeting someone in person. Apps were supposed to reduce these barriers. Instead, they appear to have reinforced them for many users.
The burnout Forbes Health documented follows a predictable pattern. Users spend hours swiping, exchange messages that go nowhere, and arrange dates that get canceled. Repeated failure of this kind wears people down.
Social Skills Got Interrupted
The pandemic hit Gen Z during formative years. Some were finishing high school. Others were starting college. Normal opportunities to flirt at parties, meet through friends, or approach someone at a coffee shop disappeared for months. When restrictions lifted, many found themselves unsure how to act in person.
This is not speculation. The anxiety Hinge documented ties directly to a generation that missed key moments of in-person social development.
Learning to read body language, tolerate awkward silences, and recover from rejection requires practice. Many in Gen Z simply got less of it.
Opting Out Entirely
Some young people have stopped trying. The doubling of sexlessness among 18-29 year olds between 2010 and 2024 includes people who want relationships but cannot find them and people who have decided the effort is not worth it. Both categories are growing.
Opting out makes sense when the costs seem to outweigh the rewards. For someone exhausted by apps, uncertain how to meet people offline, and unsure what they even want from a partner, staying single feels like the rational choice.
What Comes Next
Gen Z did not choose the conditions they inherited. They did not ask for a pandemic during their formative years or an app-based dating culture that produces burnout. They face real obstacles that previous generations did not encounter in the same form.
The question is not whether dating has become harder. The data confirms it has. The question is whether young people will find new ways to connect or continue withdrawing. Some will adapt. Others will wait. A growing number may decide that romance, at least in its traditional form, is not for them.
