Marriage rates may be declining worldwide (see Key Stats), but its social and personal appeal remains strong. Globally, 81% of Gen Zers are open to getting married (The Knot, 2023). But marriage is no longer a prerequisite to a committed relationship, which is fundamentally shifting who gets married and why.

Divorce and long-term singledom are being normalised and even celebrated as milestones. Women take the lead: they initiate 69% of divorces in the US (Forbes, 2024), and many are foregoing dating altogether due to experiences with misogyny and overstepped boundaries.

Globally, young men are more likely than women to be single, lack friends and feel lonely. Initiatives for men provide space for them to advance their emotional intelligence and social skills, improving their relationships in the process.

Young people are adopting a pragmatic attitude to dating and relationships. Some deploy experimental tests on partners to determine if a relationship is worth pursuing. Others demand clarity from dates or take a businesslike approach to love.

Young people are struggling to make friends. For inspiration on navigating the friendship dip, they’re turning to older well-connected peers, many of whom flaunt their active social lives. Cue old-school community building, group activities and non-work-related leisure time.

In the US, four in five adults have experienced emotional fatigue due to online dating (Singles Reports, 2023). Swiping fatigue – a general overwhelm caused by excessive options on dating apps – is leading consumers to seek connections in unexpected ways.

As loneliness rises, especially among young men, some people seek romance in AI companions. Yet, critics are raising questions about the impact of chatbot romances on real-life relationships due to their hypersexualised nature and intention to serve.

Due to falling fertility rates, demographic researchers expect an individual’s number of relatives to decrease by about 35% by 2095 (Max Planck Society, 2024). Consequently, the structure of immediate and extended families will shift, driving people towards novel set-ups.

As a turbulent housing market forces people to live in shared housing for longer, they build long-term relationships with flatmates. Cue oddly specific demands for prospective housemates and solutions to find potential new friends to split the rent with.

The term “queerplatonic relationship“ (QPR) describes LGBTQ+ people who partner up to offer support, share finances and form a family (with or without children), independent of a romantic relationship. Some straight people are also adopting platonic parenting to raise children.