WASHINGTON (TND) — New research shows romantic relationships are a rapidly disappearing part of the American teenage experience with nearly half of Generation Z men opting not to date, according to research from the Survey Center on American Life.
Gen Z men are a lot different than older generations.
Only 32% of millennial men, 23% of Gen X men, and just 20% of Baby Boomer men did not date during their teenage years. Meanwhile, 44% of Gen Z men have or had no boyfriend or girlfriend during their teen years.
The reverse of that 54% of Gen Z men dated during their teenage years. It's a small number compared to the 66% of millennial men, 76% of Gen X men, and 78% of Baby Boomer men dated during their teenage years.
Daniel A. Cox is behind the research. He is the director of the Survey Center on American Life and a senior fellow in polling and public opinion at the American Enterprise Institute.
"Both of them are approaching dating with much more trepidation. I think it's left them much more open to considering alternatives to partnering up in marriage," Cox said of Gen Zers. "I'm kind of washing my hands of dating because it's not either been successful or just not fun."
Cox explained Gen Zers are focused on the risk aversion of rejection and harassment, but he fears, especially for males, that not dating is causing more harm than good.
"Really important to providing you with experiences to know how to set and respect boundaries to know what you're looking for," Cox added.
He said some other things stopping young men from dating are finances, video games, parenting, and social media.
Kyle Kelman, a high school freshman, is not surprised by these numbers.
"They're not necessarily looking for a deep connection like the person but not enough to really want to have a long-lasting relationship," he opined.
He is not interested in dating anyone now. However, he's not opposed to it.
"Maybe take them out to play pickleball or tennis, maybe go eat lunch or dinner, maybe watch a movie," Kelman said of a potential date. "I do want to get married one day. I want to have children of my own."
Jennifer Kelman, Kyle's mom and mental health expert with JustAnswer.com said she supports her son dating.
"There is growth in that connection, in that dating experience because it lends itself to building new muscles," she explained. "Also, dealing with heartbreak when it comes as painful as that might be. There's also the benefit of working through those feelings and getting through to the other side."
Cox said parents can help with their sons' dating by encouraging them to be empathetic and to see what can be built in partnerships. He said sports, social clubs, and community service projects can help with this too.
All advice, Jennifer Kelman agrees with.
"This idea of getting off the device, and meeting up face to face for a date, an afternoon stroll, a dinner a movie, it's almost a thing of the past," she added. "If we're not dating, if we're not connecting, we're losing that ability to learn to build trust, to connect, and feel all the wonderful feelings of a crush, a teenage crush. And how to negotiate that space, how to deal with those emotions, how to communicate effectively with someone and when we do that, as teenagers, Gen Z now, we are giving almost like practice runs to what it's like as an adult in relationship."
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