When it comes to dating in 2025, it’s not as simple as waiting by the landline for a call or being picked up at 7 p.m. for a traditional dinner date. The talking stage hangs over the relationship like a gray cloud — it feels like you have to wait for a period, give or take a couple of months, to decide if the person is someone you’d commit to.

While romantic relationships can still flourish, one cannot deny that the optics have completely changed, much in part to social media and the increasingly digital and detached environment we live in. As technology takes over, romance experienced in the passionate throes of adolescence now finds itself replaced by stale online apps that ultimately only end up distancing young adults more.

Fifty-three percent of adults aged 18 to 29 reported that they have used a dating app, such as Hinge, Bumble or Tinder. While a majority of Generation Z Hinge users admit they want to find love, their fears of rejection ultimately stand in their way. According to Hinge’s research, daters avoid direct and serious communication “to avoid coming off as cringey or overeager.” But as these fears become a repeating pattern, the art of relationship hunting is reduced to a game of likes, read receipts and nonchalance, defeating the entire purpose of dating apps in the first place.

In 2023, the word “situationship” was a finalist for the Oxford Word of the Year, which “captures the uncertainty and lack of formalization that many people feel about their relationships.” And that’s exactly what has occurred: Gen Z, the anxious generation crippled by overthinking, have become more susceptible to tailoring their public image rather than engaging in a meaningful relationship.

With the plethora of information available on social media, users have made stalking a casual activity. Monitoring both read receipts and when someone was last active online leads to the endless cycle of picking up and putting down the phone in disappointment, a harmful use of time that chips away at one’s mental health.

Is romantic love worth attaining anymore? Is it worth as much as a career, or platonic relationships? It’s as if Gen Z has strayed from seeking out romantic relationships and exhibiting passion for others because they don’t want to repeat the past embarrassment from their failed endeavors. Fear of rejection has caused 56% of Gen Z Hinge daters to miss out on a possible connection or date.

There’s a newfound sense of caution and skepticism. More people are wondering how to meet new people authentically, as if we’ve forgotten that humans have been making natural connections since the dawn of time.

While young love has previously been seen as a fixture of modern adolescence, numbers have significantly dropped among Gen Z. Only 56% of Gen Z adults reported they had been in a romantic relationship in their teenage years –– a sharp decline from the 78% and 76% reported by Baby Boomers and Generation X individuals respectively. With the introduction of dating apps, natural connections like meeting someone at a coffee shop or through shared interests have dwindled, because our eyes are glued to our phones instead of the real world. 

Gen Z doesn’t have to stay mired in anxiety. Even if it’s considered cringey to initiate serious emotional communication, it’s finally time to face our fears. Just like we prioritize our family and friends, the same consideration must go into our romantic pursuits. Play it how you want, from online to in-real-life connections — but don’t leave them in the dark.