Is dating not as important of a thing anymore? Over the years teen dating rates have dropped significantly. Now some may see this as a good thing, while others see it as bad. But the real question is why is this happening?

There’s many different possibilities for this but a large one is due to social media and online presence, since the media wasn’t really a thing in older generations it would make sense. Especially in the past decade social media presence has been stronger than others, because of this, teens are able to communicate digitally rather than having a real conversation in person.

Sophomore Taryn Dewitt says, “The effect of social media takes a toll on our mental health and how we view ourselves so people aren’t focusing as much on dating.”

Studies show that the average teen spends 8 1/2 hours on their phone daily , averaging out to almost 60 hours per week. Spending that much time on a phone, no one would have time to date or really do much at all.

Although young people can look at it from the perspective of blaming the parents as well, some argue that parents are too involved in their child’s relationships and that can get in the way. It’s a parents job to be involved with their children but at what point may it become too much?

This could also go along with the various inclinations of mental health problems that some Gen Z people have. Since the 2000’s there has been a 70% increase in psychological issues seen in young adults, which could match up with the decrease in dating since that time period as well. 

According to multiple responses people say that “people are not as faithful in relationships as they used to be.”

Could that be the case? Is it that people aren’t as loyal to their partners and so others have realized that and just stopped deciding to try anymore? Or is it just commitment issues and younger generations don’t want to get into anything too serious and would rather keep their options open.

Another possibility is that sports and academics get in the way of even having any time at all, teens are so busy focusing on their grades, clubs, and athletic activities that they can’t even imagine having time to date. 

Morgan Klimchak, a sophomore, explains that, “People are so busy wrapped up in sports and academic achievement that it can be hard to balance that and put your focus on someone else.”

Some don’t believe in going over the top for a relationship anymore, maybe it’s just something that has been made up from classic movies or books. Teens continue to stay skeptical on something that used to be such a huge part of young lives.

But do students really know any better? To some they may believe that a lot of people are dating now but then again they don’t know how many people used to be, so perspectives could be changing as well. “Not dating a lot” may be different to many, for some it could be not at all while for other “not a lot” could be being in a relationship every couple of months.

Throughout my research it seems as though many different aspects have contributed to this and it honestly could depend on the person, not everyone is the same, although it is clear that there have been big changes in dating since past generations.

It seems as though it just isn’t as much of a priority as it used to be and is now more of a burden to be attached to someone rather than a privilege.

Will the rates keep dropping or eventually will they rise again? Researchers continue to study on whether this is for a specific reason or maybe just emotional isolation.