Gen Z is falling out of love with dating apps, study finds

A massive shift is happening in the dating scene, as younger people turn away from the apps with the hopes of finding connections in real life.

Social media has been filled with posts and videos of people declaring they were permanently deleting their dating profiles, and it seems people are sticking to this promise.

New research from Ofcom shows the UK’s top four dating apps — Tinder, Hinge, Bumble and Grindr — have all seen a decline in usage since 2023. Tinder lost 600,000 users, Hinge lost 131,000, Bumble’s users fell by 368,000 and Grindr lost 11,000.

Ofcom said the overall number of adults using a dating service in May this year was nearly five million, which is roughly in line with the same period last year. However, the watchdog linked the decline to new dating habits exhibited by Gen Z, the demographic born between the mid-1990s and 2010.

“Some analysts speculate that for younger people, particularly Gen Z the novelty of dating apps is wearing off,” Ofcom explained in its annual report, Online Nation.

Dating apps were once seen as a brand new way to meet your potential soulmates at the touch of a button. In an increasingly busy society, people can swipe and match with people without having to go outside our put themselves "out there".

But the current reality is, people are feeling burnout from what was supposed to make dating even easier and more accessible. One woman was so "bored" of dating apps last year, she took to the streets with a handmade sign to find a match instead.

Young single people are tired of dating on appsWiktor Karkocha/Unsplash

Now, thousands of singletons see the apps as a cesspool of ghosting, catfishing and dull conversations with perpetual pen pals. Many have had enough, and they’re now exploring the idea of trying to meet their next love interest in-person.

A craving for real-life interactions is something many experts in the dating space have noticed as well. Emma Sayle, founder of dating community WAX which is focused on taking people “beyond the screen and into real-world experiences” says the dating shift amongst Gen Z is not surprising.

“We see Gen Z are coming off smartphones, because they realise the harm that they could be doing," Sayle tells Indy100. "Non-smart phones are becoming popular, they want a break from social media and are looking to form real-life connections.”

The shunning of dating tech became a huge topic this year, as a Forbes Health survey polled people who have used dating apps within the last year to uncover how many are fatigued by them, and the main reasons behind this feeling.

All in all, 78 percent of respondents reported feeling fatigued by dating apps either always, often or sometimes.

When breaking this down by each generation, it's clear young people certainly feel this way since Gen Z (79 per cent) and Millennials (80 per cent) had the highest percentage of those reporting feelings of fatigue, compared to Gen X (77 per cent) and Baby Boomers (70 per cent).

Feelings of fatigue can be down to a number of reasons, with the most popular answer (40 per cent) being because respondents couldn't find a good connection with someone, the next reason was by being disappointed by people (35 per cent), followed by feeling rejected (27 per cent).

Forbes Health Lead Editor Jessica DiGiacinto said about the study: “While dating app fatigue is a very real experience, experts within the field express that these platforms can offer a positive experience with good outcomes for many people, such as building self-esteem. It’s about managing your time wisely and ensuring you notice if you start to feel any negative emotions.”

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