Why GenZ isn't dating

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Young women spend as much time or more online. What are they looking at? Who is influencing them? I’m sure it’s not all good wholesome entertainment.

Trad wive influencers, skincare* influencers, wellness influencers, fitness** influencers

*injectables

**eating disorders/meds

So many of the Gen Z influencers have injections, implants and veneers. At least the young female celebrities in the 90s kept their original faces until they were older.

[Anonymous]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/05/gen-z-men-baby-boomers-wives-should-obey-husbands

Came across this article and I thought it was relevant to the conversation. Gen Z males have more traditional beliefs in gender roles than boomers do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The NY Times loves to find 3 people in Brooklyn doing a thing and calling it a trend.

Oh, come on now. Sometimes they find five people in a Midwest diner and call it political consensus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another point of view is to what extent the troll farms of foreign governments are exacerbating this problem.

When I’m on social media and I go into the comments, invariably the profile that starts some racist, mysoginist, or misandrist sh*t storm is an empty profile.

Since the days of the cold war countries have created and exacerbated civil grassfires to sow division in a country. Making women and men hate each other is just another fault line. I can guarantee there are trolls playing noth sides of every potential rift - gay vs straight, abortion, red vs blue, police brutality, rich vs poor - anything they can use to break down society. What’s worse is that with advent of smartphones is extremely easy.

But that's what the people demand. They want to be outraged by race, sex, religion, etc. They are constantly on the lookout for some offense so they can unleash and it's not hard to find what they are looking for. They are finding exactly what they want in some self perpetuating cycle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Young women spend as much time or more online. What are they looking at? Who is influencing them? I’m sure it’s not all good wholesome entertainment.

Trad wive influencers, skincare* influencers, wellness influencers, fitness** influencers

*injectables

**eating disorders/meds

So many of the Gen Z influencers have injections, implants and veneers. At least the young female celebrities in the 90s kept their original faces until they were older.

I went to my injector last week and she mentioned she has numerous clients in college. That seems SO young, what lines are they even treating?! And where are they getting the money for it??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Young women spend as much time or more online. What are they looking at? Who is influencing them? I’m sure it’s not all good wholesome entertainment.

Trad wive influencers, skincare* influencers, wellness influencers, fitness** influencers

*injectables

**eating disorders/meds

So many of the Gen Z influencers have injections, implants and veneers. At least the young female celebrities in the 90s kept their original faces until they were older.

I went to my injector last week and she mentioned she has numerous clients in college. That seems SO young, what lines are they even treating?! And where are they getting the money for it??

If I had to guess it’s preventative Botox so they never get the lines, lip fillers, and “facial balancing” with is supposed to make their 19 year old facial features more even.

[Anonymous]

if I were a Genz woman, I wouldn't date a lot of today's men, either.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/gen-z-men-twice-likely-060053037.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the problems that have always existed have increased to an extreme degree. There has always been looks and money obsessed people it’s just more visible and accepted now.

This^. Most people dated and married people they met at school, college, work, through friends etc.

There weren't unlimited options to swipe on apps. There weren't unlimited supply of images of lives of beautiful, handsome, wealthy and famous, unlike today's Instagram, TikTok etc.

People were always shallow, just worse now.

+1 You'll be a lot happier if you build a social life the way we used to.

DS is 22. He didn't date at all in HS and just a little in college (said he wanted to keep his focus on school). Had zero interest in the apps. He's been out of school since May, working full time since June, regularly goes out to bars and does other things with a tight friend group. He'd probably do fine on the apps - 6'2", fit, college grad who makes good money - but he wants to meet people in person. He started focusing more on dating and now has a girlfriend. His best friend/roommate is into the apps, although from what I hear him talk about (we've known him since middle school and families are friends) it's all about having a girlfriend, not sleeping around. He's always been a serial monogamist -- since first having a "girlfriend" in middle school, he doesn't go long being single.

I don't see this looksmaxx thing among the many college-age guys I know through DS and my friends' kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the problems that have always existed have increased to an extreme degree. There has always been looks and money obsessed people it’s just more visible and accepted now.

This^. Most people dated and married people they met at school, college, work, through friends etc.

There weren't unlimited options to swipe on apps. There weren't unlimited supply of images of lives of beautiful, handsome, wealthy and famous, unlike today's Instagram, TikTok etc.

People were always shallow, just worse now.

+1 You'll be a lot happier if you build a social life the way we used to.

DS is 22. He didn't date at all in HS and just a little in college (said he wanted to keep his focus on school). Had zero interest in the apps. He's been out of school since May, working full time since June, regularly goes out to bars and does other things with a tight friend group. He'd probably do fine on the apps - 6'2", fit, college grad who makes good money - but he wants to meet people in person. He started focusing more on dating and now has a girlfriend. His best friend/roommate is into the apps, although from what I hear him talk about (we've known him since middle school and families are friends) it's all about having a girlfriend, not sleeping around. He's always been a serial monogamist -- since first having a "girlfriend" in middle school, he doesn't go long being single.

I don't see this looksmaxx thing among the many college-age guys I know through DS and my friends' kids.

Young men like your son are not the target of this content. Looksmaxx/Redpill/incel type content attracts boys who are already struggling. Men lacking social skills, mental health issues, or low or unemployment tend to latch onto this content.

[Anonymous]

Meh. I don't know much about this clavicular but he is objectively hot (admittedly way too young for me).

I don't really care that young men are now feeling they have to "looksmaxx" to get a woman. That's what women had to do for thousands of years. Women go through a lot of pain and money to look our best: breast/butt lifts/implants, rhino, lipo, cellulite removal, lipfillers, facelifts, it goes on and on. It's about time men put in the same effort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They grew up post 911, saw Iraq, Gaza, COVID, Epstein files, Ukraine, Iran wars, political division among nation, environmental decline and now facing financial crises, 3rd world war and draft so if any generation needed loving, committed and mentally supportive partners, its them.

Amateurs.

GenX grew up latch-key under constant threat of nuclear annihilation, neglect, cold wars, being made to watch the space shuttle explode without any discussion after-the-fact, cyanide in Tylenol, attempted assasination of Reagan, AIDS, and "stranger danger." They also endured the same things above as young adults and adults.

Boomers grew up with civil unrest, cold war, Vietnam War/draft, Space Race, assassination of MLK, JFK, RFK, John Lennon, stock market crash of 1987.

The Greatest Generation grew up with the Great Depression, a world war that ended with detonation of two nuclear bombs over populations, Korean War, and more.

But, please tell me about the awful trauma GenZ has endured.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:if I were a Genz woman, I wouldn't date a lot of today's men, either.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/gen-z-men-twice-likely-060053037.html

Those boys are in for a rude awakening...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They grew up post 911, saw Iraq, Gaza, COVID, Epstein files, Ukraine, Iran wars, political division among nation, environmental decline and now facing financial crises, 3rd world war and draft so if any generation needed loving, committed and mentally supportive partners, its them.

Amateurs.

GenX grew up latch-key under constant threat of nuclear annihilation, neglect, cold wars, being made to watch the space shuttle explode without any discussion after-the-fact, cyanide in Tylenol, attempted assasination of Reagan, AIDS, and "stranger danger." They also endured the same things above as young adults and adults.

Boomers grew up with civil unrest, cold war, Vietnam War/draft, Space Race, assassination of MLK, JFK, RFK, John Lennon, stock market crash of 1987.

The Greatest Generation grew up with the Great Depression, a world war that ended with detonation of two nuclear bombs over populations, Korean War, and more.

But, please tell me about the awful trauma GenZ has endured.

Fellow GenXer here. We famously enjoyed what George Will called a "holiday from history" until 9/11. And arguably even for some years afterward. If you don't see how things are much different today, you are willing yourself blind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Meh. I don't know much about this clavicular but he is objectively hot (admittedly way too young for me).

I don't really care that young men are now feeling they have to "looksmaxx" to get a woman. That's what women had to do for thousands of years. Women go through a lot of pain and money to look our best: breast/butt lifts/implants, rhino, lipo, cellulite removal, lipfillers, facelifts, it goes on and on. It's about time men put in the same effort.

This seems healthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They grew up post 911, saw Iraq, Gaza, COVID, Epstein files, Ukraine, Iran wars, political division among nation, environmental decline and now facing financial crises, 3rd world war and draft so if any generation needed loving, committed and mentally supportive partners, its them.

Amateurs.

GenX grew up latch-key under constant threat of nuclear annihilation, neglect, cold wars, being made to watch the space shuttle explode without any discussion after-the-fact, cyanide in Tylenol, attempted assasination of Reagan, AIDS, and "stranger danger." They also endured the same things above as young adults and adults.

Boomers grew up with civil unrest, cold war, Vietnam War/draft, Space Race, assassination of MLK, JFK, RFK, John Lennon, stock market crash of 1987.

The Greatest Generation grew up with the Great Depression, a world war that ended with detonation of two nuclear bombs over populations, Korean War, and more.

But, please tell me about the awful trauma GenZ has endured.

Fellow GenXer here. We famously enjoyed what George Will called a "holiday from history" until 9/11. And arguably even for some years afterward. If you don't see how things are much different today, you are willing yourself blind.

Oh, well, if George Will said that, I guess it must be true.

Good Lord. Were you born a gullible idiot or did you suffer a head injury when you were home alone after school?