How to date IRL

In a world increasingly dominated by dating apps, many singles are finding themselves in a "romance slump." Faith Hill, a staff writer for The Atlantic, joins the podcast to shed light on why dating feels so broken and what people are doing to find love in an increasingly chaotic world.

The Rise of the Romance Slump

Faith Hill opens the conversation by describing the pervasive feeling that dating, and romance in general, is in a slump. She notes that this isn't just about dating apps; it's a broader trend affecting various aspects of romantic relationships. Marriage rates in the US and many other countries have been declining for a while, and young adults are entering committed relationships less frequently. People are also having less sex. Even among single people, a significant portion reports not regularly dating at all. This sentiment is echoed by listeners, with one person stating, "I would rather go to the dentist and get a root canal than go on a first date ever again." Another listener, Emma, shares that she refuses to touch a dating app, preferring to meet people at church or through adult sports leagues, believing the right person will come at the right time without having to search too hard.

John Burn-Murdoch, a Financial Times data reporter, conducted an analysis revealing a steep drop in the proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds in marriages or cohabiting partnerships. This decline was particularly pronounced for college graduates (almost 10 percentage points) and even more so for those without a degree (more than 20 percentage points) between 1980 and 2022. In 2019, 42% of single adults younger than 40 told the Pew Research Center they had never been in a committed relationship. Despite these trends, surveys consistently show that the majority of people still desire marriage and partnership. This creates a paradox where many want connection but aren't actively pursuing it through traditional means.