Lack of Romamce Among Gen Z teens

[Anonymous]

There’s no slow dancing at school dances. No persobal spark because kids aren’t talking face to face (only on social media), they don’t hold hands, they don’t even want to date and think so much of what we as parents did in the past is cringy.

How boring and flat is Gen Z.

And what does this mean for future relationships? Most will graduate high school never having a first kiss. They act like there are afraid of everything and bored.

There’s no hope for this generation.

[Anonymous]

The boys are terrified of accusations of sexual assault and that’s frankly realistic.

[Anonymous]

That’s so sad that the boys feel that way. It’s American society and that whole MeToo movement that went a tad too far.

[Anonymous]

This is a not a “me too going too far” — I guarantee you there is still more unpunished sexual assault in HS than false accusations.

[Anonymous]

That's kind of insulting and overgeneralizing saying there is no hope for an entire generation. There has always been a segment of the population that didn't hook up in high school. They will figure it out later I'm sure, at their own pace.

[Anonymous]

Maybe the kids are evolving past the binary boy/girl pair ups and enjoying being with their friends? As the parent of a 14 year old, I get to be the driver for DD and her friends so listen to them talk about kids at school, TikTok and just regular teen silliness. Her friends take school seriously, love their idols (Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, etc...) and also acknowledge that the world has been F'd up by grown ups so they've got serious things to fix.

[Anonymous]

Wait, are we upset teens are too mature and reading smut in the library etc, or are we upset they aren't kissing at school dances? Pick a lane!

FWIW, I did not slow dance or kiss in high school and I still managed to date, marry, and have kids. They will be fine.

[Anonymous]

My Gen Z daughter can't wait to go to college to meet new young men. She isn't interested in any boys at her high school.

[Anonymous]

This poster complains that kids aren’t dating anymore - and on the other hand, there are many threads here about how parents discourage or outright forbid dating in high school, insisting kids should be focused on academics & sports.
Such a spectrum!
I personally don’t see this lack of romance. Both kids have dated, have friends with boyfriends/girlfriends, etc. Yeah, it sometimes looks different - more texting than talking on the phone.

[Anonymous]

my 15 year daughter can't stand the guys at her school they are very immature and dumb .

[Anonymous]

Dating is just very different for this generation and there’s nothing wrong with that. They have stages (talking?) that I never had and things seem much less defined. I wouldn’t call it bad, though. Just different.

Also, OP, you’re wrong to assume that no boyfriend or girlfriend means they haven’t had a first kiss. It just doesn’t work that way for many of them.

[Anonymous]

I agree with you OP. It's...interesting and I wonder how they will turn out.
My 17.5 year old daughter has never had a boyfriend or kissed anyone (I believe this when she tells me). She's pretty, outgoing, friendly, stylish, etc and interested in boys. It's just never happened for her. She attends an all-girls school but when I talk to moms who went there 30 years ago they had plenty of exposure to boys. Now many of the girls live like nuns: they study 3 hours a day, do extracurriculars, sports and go through high school never having more than a few words with a guys.

This is all markedly different from my own high school life. I didn't have sex until college but from age 14 on I was kissing boys, making out (just shy of sex), dating. My life revolved around boys and I was a great student. But somehow I had hours and hours to think about them and my kid just slogs away at academics and all the rest of the crap that high schoolers today fill their time with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my 15 year daughter can't stand the guys at her school they are very immature and dumb .

They will be worse at college away from mom and dad. Just bring real. Boys with boys tend to become less mature and more hurtful.

[Anonymous]

Should have read just being real. She needs to be a bit more careful in college. The stakes go up for what men are willing to do to women out of a watchful eye. Hopefully she will get some interest in dating sophomore year and the boys will be a bit more mature then.

[Anonymous]

My 15 yo is in their first relationship. They are the only couple in either of their friend groups. Their relationship looks a lot like high school relationships did when I was a teen in the 90s…they talked for a couple weeks, went out on a couple dates and now they’re on the phone every night and spend time together on the weekends. It’s very age appropriate.