Gen Z Is Over Hookup Culture—And They Might Just Save Marriage

A new study from The Times and YouGov confirms what many have sensed intuitively: the youngest generation of adults is rejecting the casual chaos of hookup culture and taking commitment more seriously than anyone expected.

According to the survey, a full 62% of Gen Z respondents said neither they nor their friends engage in one-night stands. Only 23% admitted to casual hookups at all. That’s a dramatic cultural shift from 2004, when 78% of young millennials said they had sex on the first date—a time when the dominant vibe was more Sex and the City than “soft launch your boyfriend.”

But here’s the real twist: it’s not just about saying "no" to casual flings. Gen Z is also saying "yes" to something deeper. Only 21% of Gen Zers believe marriage is irrelevant. That’s a striking decline from the 39% of millennials who dismissed marriage in the early 2000s—many of whom were reacting to the divorce-heavy legacies of the Gen X and Boomer generations.

So what’s behind the shift?

Evie has been sounding the alarm on the miseries of hookup culture since as early as 2019, long before corporate outlets were willing to question its effects. We published articles that challenged the popular narrative that casual sex was empowering or consequence-free. Instead, we highlighted the emotional toll, the confusion, and the sense of emptiness many women felt after years of chasing meaningless connections. Clearly, these pieces resonated—deeply.

Women began to speak up, share their stories, and reconsider what they truly wanted from their romantic lives. In many ways, Evie helped plant the seeds of today’s dating renaissance, where more and more young women are choosing self-respect and commitment over of hookup culture.

The Pandemic Changed Everything

When the pandemic hit, most Gen Zers were in the thick of their formative dating years. Isolation, uncertainty, and long stretches without in-person connection forced a kind of introspection that many previous generations didn’t experience. Suddenly, endless Tinder matches and vague entanglements didn’t seem fulfilling. The search for real companionship—someone to talk to, walk with, even quarantine with—took on a new emotional weight.

What started as circumstantial became something more lasting. Gen Z emerged from the pandemic less interested in dating for sport and more focused on real connection.

Children of Divorce, Seekers of Stability

Ironically, it’s Gen Z’s proximity to failed relationships that seems to have inspired a renewed respect for lasting ones. Many of them watched their parents’ marriages end, or saw the emotional and financial toll of messy partnerships. Unlike some millennials who internalized those failures as reasons to avoid marriage altogether, Gen Z appears more determined to do it right.

For them, marriage isn’t a box to check or a societal obligation—it’s a meaningful choice. A risk worth taking, but one that should be taken seriously.

As relationship therapist Dr. Alexandra Solomon recently noted in an interview with Psychology Today, “Gen Z has a deep desire for authenticity and emotional safety. They’re not afraid to question traditional timelines, but they’re also not cynical about love.” In many ways, Gen Z is curating their romantic lives with the same intentionality they bring to everything else—mental health, career choices, even the aesthetics of their social feeds.

The Slow Burn Romance

From viral TikTok stories about “slow love” to Instagram accounts celebrating vintage courtship, Gen Z is embracing a slower, more deliberate approach to romance. This is a generation that’s been steeped in content—but hungry for love. And while they’ve inherited a world of infinite choice, they seem to know that more isn’t always better.

They’re also highly attuned to red flags, emotional manipulation, and the nuances of attachment styles—terms that would have made earlier generations blink in confusion. As a result, their dating habits might be slower to start, but they’re often more emotionally aware.

Could Gen Z Bring Marriage Back?

Of course, the institution of marriage is still evolving. Gen Z isn’t naïve about that. They’re more likely to cohabitate first, talk openly about finances, and negotiate roles and expectations early on. But they’re doing it with the endgame in mind. They want partnerships, not entanglements. They want love that lasts, not situationships that waste their time.

And in a cultural moment where marriage is often framed as a burden or a relic, Gen Z’s quiet embrace of it is radical.

If millennials deconstructed marriage, Gen Z might just be the ones to rediscover it—on their own terms. Not as a status symbol or a social contract, but as something sacred. Something stable. Something they’re willing to fight for.

In an era obsessed with reinvention, Gen Z’s approach to love is less about rebellion and more back to the basics. Back to real connection. And maybe—just maybe—back to believing that marriage, when done right, can still be one of the most beautiful things in the world.

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