I’m sure those who are still dating do now, but dating apps didn’t really start becoming popular until the mid 2010s, and millennials were well into their 20s already. Lots were able to take that last chopper out.
Man, I wasn’t even trying to settle down in my 20’s a little. It wasn’t until my 30’s that I thought about slowing down with the casual hook ups and happened to reconnect with a nice man from high school.
Do meet up groups not exist anymore? Does Gen Z lack any space to explore mutual hobbies and meet new people?
Does Gen Z lack any space to explore mutual hobbies and meet new people?
Shared interests have pretty much moved online, free/cheap places for physical meetups are disappearing, and in a car-dependent world you’re not gonna meet someone randomly in-between your planned out destinations.
I mean it seems the same as it ever was to me, newly single younger Millennial here and I’m seeing a Gen Z woman.
Seems the biggest change in the last 4ish years is there are a lot more ethical Non-monogamy people, but I’m wondering if that’s just a youth culture thing.
The woman I’ve been seeing says that she is ENM, but all her actions indicate otherwise to me. Which I don’t mind, Im not really non-monogamous, just pretty open and flexible with things. Also below age 25-30 have a lot more “doesn’t want kids” vibes going on
FWIW I know plenty of Millenials who practice ENM or polyamory in some fashion, but I think that may just be more common in the queer community and I don’t see as many straight people doing it, or at least doing it well.
It was more late 00s. I met my wife on OkC in 2008, and Match and it had been around for awhile at that point. It was still something vaguely embarrassing, and people didn’t usually talk about using those.
The apps hadn’t been so thoroughly ruined by Match Group yet. OKCupid used to publish interesting detailed reports about dating habits. Plenty of Fish wasn’t full of bots and scammers. The apps that charged you for basic features were largely avoided. The experience was weird and new.
The dating app landscape as it is now is basically just whichever is the latest one until Match acquires it.
That’s how I ended up finding any decent relationship. Tried the app thing for a bit, which was mostly fun for hook ups, but awful for finding any kind of actual connection.
Probably not a coincidence the app doesn’t work out. They earn money as long as people stay on the app, so you finding a long term partner is bad for their business, so they want you to keep dating.
Those of us who are right on the cusp (let’s say 95-99) all use the apps but end up finding partners irl instead anyway. Either that or not at all. Just not on the apps.
I started dating my partner before Tinder existed and when I watch my friends play Tinder it looks like such a depressing nightmare. It’s like… got microtransactions and shit. Wondering when they’re adding a battlepass.
Makes for a good dick menu, but for actual relationships it makes me sooooo happy I’ve found my eternal person before all of this shit existed.
They did and still do. Anybody dating today regardless of their age is likely to try a dating app at least for a bit. Don’t buy into this generational division.
Many millennials developed relationships / got married before dating apps really blew up. Plus, the cultural pressures of today make being single look very different from when I was.
I mean you’re not entirely wrong, but have you considered that might just be a side effect of getting on in years rather than not having dating apps 30+ years ago?
I’m glad the joke was well received, sometimes flippant sarcasm lands flat online!
I think there’s a lot of factors that could play into my parent’s (I’m in my mid 30’s, fwiw) generation seeming to suffer such marital woes. I think there was a lot of social pressure to marry and have children quickly that put them in relationships they may not have ideally chosen and at younger ages. People seem to change a lot during their 20’s. I absolutely found myself connecting well with some people at age 21 who I couldn’t stand by age 24. I think there was a lot of sexual repression as well. I wonder if my parents generation had had more freedom to explore LGBTQ and polyamorous relationships without fear of ostracization or worse consequences if they’d be overall happier in their marriages, even if they ended up in a heterosexual relationship. I dunno what it is, but the gays of every generation just seem happier on the whole.
I think the contemporary ideas on divorce also influenced people to stay in relationships they did not want to be in, and, frankly, the lack of social mobility for women seriously negatively impacted women’s abilities to leave toxic relationships. That was lessened in my parent’s generation from their parent’s, but it still existed and it still exists to some extent today.
Maybe it’s simply getting older? But I think it’s partially that older generations happen to stay in relationships longer, they’re less likely to split when things turn sour. Or even sour-ish.
I’m not sure if dating is truly easier or harder today than it was ten years ago, twenty years ago, thirty, etc, but it sure is different and, yeah, the apps are pretty much just a data collection program that covers itself with the thin veil of a yenta
Did Millennials not use dating apps?
I’m sure those who are still dating do now, but dating apps didn’t really start becoming popular until the mid 2010s, and millennials were well into their 20s already. Lots were able to take that last chopper out.
Man, I wasn’t even trying to settle down in my 20’s a little. It wasn’t until my 30’s that I thought about slowing down with the casual hook ups and happened to reconnect with a nice man from high school.
Do meet up groups not exist anymore? Does Gen Z lack any space to explore mutual hobbies and meet new people?
Shared interests have pretty much moved online, free/cheap places for physical meetups are disappearing, and in a car-dependent world you’re not gonna meet someone randomly in-between your planned out destinations.
I mean it seems the same as it ever was to me, newly single younger Millennial here and I’m seeing a Gen Z woman.
Seems the biggest change in the last 4ish years is there are a lot more ethical Non-monogamy people, but I’m wondering if that’s just a youth culture thing.
The woman I’ve been seeing says that she is ENM, but all her actions indicate otherwise to me. Which I don’t mind, Im not really non-monogamous, just pretty open and flexible with things. Also below age 25-30 have a lot more “doesn’t want kids” vibes going on
FWIW I know plenty of Millenials who practice ENM or polyamory in some fashion, but I think that may just be more common in the queer community and I don’t see as many straight people doing it, or at least doing it well.
It was more late 00s. I met my wife on OkC in 2008, and Match and it had been around for awhile at that point. It was still something vaguely embarrassing, and people didn’t usually talk about using those.
The apps hadn’t been so thoroughly ruined by Match Group yet. OKCupid used to publish interesting detailed reports about dating habits. Plenty of Fish wasn’t full of bots and scammers. The apps that charged you for basic features were largely avoided. The experience was weird and new.
The dating app landscape as it is now is basically just whichever is the latest one until Match acquires it.
No, we just kinda stumbled into each other in social situations and went from there.
That’s how I ended up finding any decent relationship. Tried the app thing for a bit, which was mostly fun for hook ups, but awful for finding any kind of actual connection.
Probably not a coincidence the app doesn’t work out. They earn money as long as people stay on the app, so you finding a long term partner is bad for their business, so they want you to keep dating.
Those of us who are right on the cusp (let’s say 95-99) all use the apps but end up finding partners irl instead anyway. Either that or not at all. Just not on the apps.
I met a couple girls on IRC lol
I started dating my partner before Tinder existed and when I watch my friends play Tinder it looks like such a depressing nightmare. It’s like… got microtransactions and shit. Wondering when they’re adding a battlepass.
Makes for a good dick menu, but for actual relationships it makes me sooooo happy I’ve found my eternal person before all of this shit existed.
They did and still do. Anybody dating today regardless of their age is likely to try a dating app at least for a bit. Don’t buy into this generational division.
Many millennials developed relationships / got married before dating apps really blew up. Plus, the cultural pressures of today make being single look very different from when I was.
Gen z and millennials are the only cohorts now? Get off my lawn.
No no of course not, I simply forgot Gen X existed and I don’t care how earlier generations did it, they seem miserable and bitter.
This has been our plan all along.
That made me laugh!
I mean you’re not entirely wrong, but have you considered that might just be a side effect of getting on in years rather than not having dating apps 30+ years ago?
I’m glad the joke was well received, sometimes flippant sarcasm lands flat online!
I think there’s a lot of factors that could play into my parent’s (I’m in my mid 30’s, fwiw) generation seeming to suffer such marital woes. I think there was a lot of social pressure to marry and have children quickly that put them in relationships they may not have ideally chosen and at younger ages. People seem to change a lot during their 20’s. I absolutely found myself connecting well with some people at age 21 who I couldn’t stand by age 24. I think there was a lot of sexual repression as well. I wonder if my parents generation had had more freedom to explore LGBTQ and polyamorous relationships without fear of ostracization or worse consequences if they’d be overall happier in their marriages, even if they ended up in a heterosexual relationship. I dunno what it is, but the gays of every generation just seem happier on the whole.
I think the contemporary ideas on divorce also influenced people to stay in relationships they did not want to be in, and, frankly, the lack of social mobility for women seriously negatively impacted women’s abilities to leave toxic relationships. That was lessened in my parent’s generation from their parent’s, but it still existed and it still exists to some extent today.
Maybe it’s simply getting older? But I think it’s partially that older generations happen to stay in relationships longer, they’re less likely to split when things turn sour. Or even sour-ish.
I’m not sure if dating is truly easier or harder today than it was ten years ago, twenty years ago, thirty, etc, but it sure is different and, yeah, the apps are pretty much just a data collection program that covers itself with the thin veil of a yenta
We’re used to it.
Obligatory…
Gen x is not considered, as they are the middle child of generations.
As a generation x middle child, there’s no point me even replying.
Shh
You’re like the butt of UDP joke.
Oh you. Packet in.
I met my (now) wife in college in 2002. Never touched a dating app
Same, but 2012
It was more of a “dating site” situation, compared to a “dating app” one.
The dating sites generally showed at least something of a profile at the same time as the picture(s), so it wasn’t 100% based on looks.
Grindr, growlr, and scruff were good for one thing, and (basically) everyone on them knew what the deal was.
I got 2 bots that wanted me to pay a Instahoe. No humans around.