As Valentine’s Day approaches, romance is dying.

Perhaps this is a pessimistic way to look at things but current trends indicate that fewer and fewer young people, specifically young men, are interested in romance.

According to a study by the American Institute for Boys and Men, 44% of Generation Z men did not have a single relationship as a teenager, and only 14% were in a relationship for most of their teen years. To put it into perspective, 32% of millennial men said they never dated as a teenager, and only 20% of baby boomers.

Results from a 2022 Pew Research study were even more dire. The study found 30% of Americans are single. Among men aged 18 to 29, 63% reported being single in 2022, and many of them are not interested in dating. The same study found that 57% of single adults are not looking to date. An additional 30% say they are only interested in casual dates, leaving 13% of single people who are looking to be in a committed relationship.

The study found that 34% of women of the same age group are single. The nearly 30% gap could be explained by an increase in LGBTQ+ relationships among women.

Financial burdens, pornography, hookups and political extremism could explain why young men are removing themselves from the dating pool.

In Pullman, house prices have climbed by about 10% a year, according to Redfin, and larger markets are inflating even more. According to the USinflationcalculator.com, the national inflation rate rose to over 6% during 2021 and 2022, leading to soaring prices everywhere from the dairy aisle to the movie theatres. For many young men, they may not feel like they can afford to date, as they struggle to provide for themselves.

Young men have also increasingly turned to sexually explicit content on the internet to find short-term pleasure, instead of seeking out long-term relationships. According to a study published by the National Library of Medicine, 91.5% of men watch porn at least once a month, and most are being exposed before they reach high school. 

Hookup culture has also flourished as religion and traditional values have faded away. The American Psychological Association reports that 70% of sexually active 12 to 21-year-olds in the United States had engaged in “uncommitted sex,” also known as a hookup. Further in the study, it becomes evident that young men are more likely to engage in hookups than women.

82% of men reported feeling glad after a hookup, and only 26% had any negative reactions. Meanwhile, 49% of women engaging in hookups reported feeling negative afterwards. Not only are men hooking up more than ever, but they are emotionally immune to any guilt or uncomfort. 

As young men have grown less and less interested in dating, an intriguing gender gap has emerged in politics. NBC news exit polls from the 2024 U.S. election found that men aged 18 to 29 voted in favor of Donald Trump, 49% to 48%, while women of the same age chose Kamala Harris by a large margin, 61% to 38%. That held up with previous election trends, as young men become more conservative and young women more liberal.

The problem does not lie in conservatives and liberals, however, but in the extremes. Young men are being drawn towards controversial influencers, such as Andrew Tate and Adin Ross. They are told that society is rigged against them, and that they should not waste time dating women who are only trying to take advantage of them. 

Women, meanwhile, fall into the trap of villainizing men. Last year, there was a viral debate on Tik-Tok in which women had to choose between being in the woods with a man or with a bear. Most women chose the bear.

The reality is that men have lost the trust of women, and they are not interested in earning it back. 

If the young men of America are going to start dating again, it will take more than just a quick fix. These are deep-rooted issues, and require both men and women to take steps to bridge the gap. If not, the gap will likely grow.