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Nobody wants to be single forever, but Gen Z are weighing up the pros & cons and many have decided to take a ‘situationship sabbatical’.
If you’ve recently realised that modern dating is essentially unpaid emotional labour with expensive cocktails, you may already be on a situationship sabbatical.
It’s the hot new trend where Gen Z singles simply stop. Stop swiping, stop replying, and stop pretending to be interested in someone’s ‘passion project’ podcast. Optimists call it self-preservation, while the more cynically inclined call it conceding defeat.
The reasoning is simple: modern dating is grim. Apps have turned meeting people into a glorified admin task. There’s little romance to be found in running your own marketing agency – sourcing images, writing ad copy, replying to cold leads, and arranging meetings that rarely end in a sale… that’s a relationship, not sex. I’m not that misogynistic.
In all seriousness, though, dating apps simply don’t resonate with Gen Z, as we discussed only recently.
A 2024 Match.com survey found 78% of the cohort feel overwhelmed by dating in its new, dystopian formula, which is probably the politest way to say they ‘can’t be f*cked’. Match Group also lost over 700,000 paying subscribers last year, while Bumble cut 30% of its workforce last month due to declining interest.
The economic aspect plays a big role here. When rent and council tax is gobbling most of your income, you’re less inclined to want to spend £40 on a Five Guys burger + milkshake opposite someone who reckons ‘banter’ is a personality trait.
An increasing number of Gen Zers believe it’s more dignified to just say ‘nah’. The perpetual hunt for the ball & chain dynamic of our parents is probably at odds with evenings at the gym, watching odd YouTube deep dives, or unintended gaming marathons, anyway. Interestingly, there doesn’t seem to be any discernible panic about falling behind, either.
In fact, TikTok is full of smug sabbatical-takers proudly showing off empty Hinge inboxes like a badge of honour. It’s like taking a digital dating ‘gap yahhh’.
To be fair, psychologists argue that stepping away is actually healthy. The constant conveyor belt of ‘options’ on the apps can lead to decision fatigue, tanked self-esteem, and the gnawing feeling you’re wasting your time. Whether people care to admit it or not, the apps are making us all more shallow, too.
Who knows whether the situationship sabbatical will stick around when Gen Zers become a little less fresh-faced in the coming years. Either way, it’s refreshing to see a generation come around to the idea that not dating, or scrabbling around for sexual partners is fine.
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