How Gen Z Is Dating in 2025

A generation raised on apps wants nothing to do with them. That sentence captures the strange position Gen Z occupies right now. They swipe, match, and then ghost the platform entirely. They crave emotional depth but freeze when asked to provide it. They want real connection but spend $0 a month trying to find it. The numbers tell a story of contradiction, hesitation, and quiet rebellion against the systems built to help them find love.

The Apps Are Bleeding Users

Dating platforms are in trouble. According to a 2024 Ofcom report cited by CNBC, the most popular dating sites in the UK lost massive numbers between May 2023 and May 2024. Tinder lost 594,000 users. Bumble dropped by 368,000. Hinge fell by 131,000. These are not small dips.

The financial fallout is severe. Bumble has lost 90% of its value since going public in 2021 and announced it is laying off 30% of its staff, as reported by Newsweek. Match Group laid off 13% of its workforce in May 2025 after paid usership and profits dropped in the first quarter, according to Fortune.

Burnout Is the Default State

A Forbes Health survey of 1,000 Americans found that 78% of respondents have felt emotionally, mentally, or physically exhausted by dating apps. Among Gen Z specifically, 79% reported this burnout sometimes, often, or always. Rufus Tony Spann, a Forbes Health Advisory Board member, noted the main causes: 40% cited inability to find a good connection, 27% pointed to rejection, and 24% blamed repetitive conversations with multiple matches.

Research by the Kinsey Institute and DatingAdvice.com surveyed 2,000 single adults. Only 21.2% of Gen Z participants said apps were their primary way of connecting. Meanwhile, 58% said they were focused on meeting in person. Dr. Justin Lehmiller, a senior research fellow at the Kinsey Institute, told Newsweek that for a generation raised on technology, most do not want to use it to find love and prefer the old-fashioned way.

The Communication Gap Between Men and Women

Hinge's 2025 Gen Z D.A.T.E. Report surveyed approximately 30,000 daters worldwide. The findings expose a mismatch in expectations. 49% of heterosexual Gen Z women hesitate to start deep conversations on a first date because they want the other person to go first. Only 17% of heterosexual Gen Z men say the same.

Here is where it gets interesting. 42% of heterosexual Gen Z women feel the men they date do not want deep conversations on the first few dates. But 65% of heterosexual Gen Z men say they do want those conversations early on. Both sides are waiting for the other to make the first move. Nobody moves.

Relationship Structures Are No Longer One-Size-Fits-All

Gen Z approaches partnerships with less attachment to traditional formats. Some pursue long-term commitment, others prefer brief connections, and a growing number explore unconventional setups like dating a sugar daddy or practicing relationship anarchy. According to Feeld's State of Dating report, up to 20% of Gen Z respondents said they had practiced relationship anarchy at some stage, with this trend being most prevalent in LGBTQIA+ communities.

The data suggests a generation willing to define relationships on their own terms. Feeld has seen an 89% increase in Gen Zers joining the platform in the past year. Ashley Dos Santos, senior communications executive at Feeld, told Newsweek that this generation is questioning old norms around gender, sexuality, and relationships, choosing exploration and authenticity over more rigid categories.

Vulnerability Feels Risky

The Hinge report found that 48% of Gen Z men fear expressing emotion because they worry about being "too much." Meanwhile, 95% of all Gen Z daters agonize over rejection, and 56% said fear of rejection has stopped them from pursuing a promising match.

Social media compounds the problem. 49% of Gen Z men feel pressured to act a certain way because of social platforms. 45% of Gen Z men, 45% of Gen Z women, and 39% of nonbinary Gen Z daters say these platforms have made them more reluctant to be emotionally open. 47% of Gen Z men report feeling generally intimidated in dating situations.

Money Stays in Wallets

Bank of America's Better Money Habits report surveyed 915 Gen Z adults in the U.S. and found that 53% were spending $0 each month on dating. A third of respondents said they spent less than $100 per month on dates. The low spending reflects hesitancy, financial constraints, or both.

New Terms for New Behaviors

The vocabulary is expanding. Tinder introduced the term nanoship in their 2024 Year in Swipe report, based on a survey of 8,000 singles aged 18 to 34 from the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia. A nanoship describes an incredibly brief romantic or sexual connection involving intense chemistry but no depth or emotional investment, as reported by Tatler Asia.

Then there is throning, a trend described by relationship specialist Siddharrth S. Kumaar. It refers to dating someone who, by association, increases your reputation and ego. The connection is less about the person and more about what they represent.

On the gentler side, Bumble's research with over 40,000 Gen Z and millennial members worldwide identified micro-mance. This describes small gestures that show you care. 86% of singles surveyed agreed that affection now includes behaviors like sending memes, sharing a playlist, or exchanging inside jokes. Half of Gen Z singles, 49%, say that geeking out on something together is a form of intimacy.

Dating Apps Try to Solve the Problem They Created

Hinge launched the second year of One More Hour, a social impact initiative with a $1 million fund to provide grants to local groups that create free, accessible spaces for young people to meet in person. Since launching in 2024, the program has distributed $2 million in support to over 100 in-person social groups in select U.S. and UK cities.

The need is real. 85% of Gen Z in the UK report feelings of loneliness. 70% report anxiety about meeting people in real life. Jackie Jantos, president and chief marketing officer at Hinge, told CNBC that Gen Z grew up during lockdown, spending their late teenage years and early 20s in a pandemic situation. This explains their difficulties with in-person connection. Josh Penny, Hinge's social impact director, identified three reasons Gen Z's social skills lag behind previous generations: the Covid-19 pandemic, smartphone use, and the decline of third spaces.

AI Gets a Mixed Reception

60% of younger Gen Z daters aged 18 to 22 say they are open to using AI for dating help as a virtual second opinion, according to Hinge. But the broader sentiment is skeptical. A Bloomberg Intelligence survey found that Gen Z reported higher discomfort than millennials with using AI to draft profile prompts, respond to messages, or modify profile pictures. About 50% of the 1,000 dating app users surveyed said AI made no difference in how they made their profiles or chatted with matches.

Labels Are Losing Their Grip

Hinge's 2025 Love Beyond Labels D.A.T.E. report found that 48% of queer respondents suffer from label fatigue, a frustration with pressure to define themselves within strict identity boxes. Gen Z daters are 21% more likely than Millennial daters to date people with a variety of gender expressions. Gen Z LGBTQIA+ daters were 39% more likely than their Millennial counterparts to have reconsidered their sexuality label based on an unexpected attraction.

Sex Is Down, Commitment Is Up

Nearly 1 in 4 people aged 18 to 29 had no sex in the past year, according to the General Social Survey. Yet 72% of Bumble users globally said they are focused on finding long-term partners within the next year, according to Bumble's findings. Bumble's research also found that 64% of women respondents are getting clear about what they want and need and refusing to settle for less.

Gen Z is not giving up on connection. They are renegotiating its terms. The apps that once defined modern dating are watching their user bases shrink while a generation figures out what they actually want.