Everyone is fed up with dating, especially Gen Z. Just open TikTok and you’ll see the discourse surrounding swipe fatigue, lovebombing, mixed signals, ghosting (need I go on?). These all make for a pretty rubbish dating landscape that leaves singles feeling like they’ll be on their own forever. Some might say it’s the trenches out here.

It comes as no surprise, therefore, that 64% of dating app users are feeling hopeless and in 2024, the biggest four dating apps (Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, Grindr) lost over a million users in the UK.

Gen Z swipes left on app romance: Burned out, bored and ready for something real

After years of swiping, matching, ghosting, “hey, how was your weekend?” texts that go nowhere, and now to top it all off - ‘chatfishing’, it’s safe to say Gen Z are getting the ick with dating apps. In a January 2024 letter to shareholders, Match Group Inc (who own Tinder and Hinge) noted that younger audiences are craving “a lower-pressure, more authentic way to find connections". After living their whole lives online, there’s one thing they don’t want to find there - love.

However, for Gen Z and their fear of rejection or being cringe, finding love IRL can be intimidating and being approached by a handsome stranger can feel like a thing of the past…so turning to dating apps can feel like a last resort to meeting new people. But with every unmatched chat, situationship and failed talking stage, it’s easy to start wondering if real, lasting connection even exists anymore.

That being said, Gen Z haven’t given up on dating completely, it’s just the process of finding what they want has become draining, and apps that aren’t understanding of this are the ones that will fall behind.

So how do you get Gen Z to fall back in love with the journey of dating?

Gen Z finds real chemistry through shared experiences

As dating apps see declining use, community platforms are thriving.

Strava's active users grew 20% last year, and Letterboxd's community grew 50%. According to The Curious History of Dating author Nichi Hodgson, this shift reflects people seeking spaces built around shared passions rather than surface-level interactions.

New dating apps like Thursday and Breeze are tapping into this by prioritising real-life experiences over endless chatting. They’re turning dating into shared adventures and events, aligning with Gen Z’s desire for authentic, community-led connections.

Legacy players like Tinder are evolving too, launching initiatives such as run clubs, football partnerships, pop up events and even their Double Date Island YouTube content series; celebrating a fun, less pressured approach to dating.

By embedding themselves in different communities and passion spaces, these brands aren’t just making dating feel more relevant to their audience, they’re making it feel alive again.

From swipe fatigue to main character energy in modern dating

Another thing about Gen Z, contrary to popular belief, they don’t quit, they reframe. In every part of their lives, Gen Z are masters of reinvention. They show up, again and again, finding new ways to connect, create, and love their lives out loud. More than any generation before them, they understand the power of romanticising the everyday, turning the ordinary into something worth celebrating.

#romanticizeyourlife has over 584K TikTok posts, and it’s not just another fleeting trend. Movements like ‘doing it for the plot’ and ‘main character energy’ have lived both on and off social for years. This mindset isn’t about fantasy, it’s about finding meaning and joy in the real, messy, beautiful moments of life. In the words of the great Charli XCX, “everything is romantic (uh)”

And that extends to dating. With 1 in 3 singles (35%) saying that realistic, positive dating content makes them feel more optimistic about their own love lives, there’s a clear opportunity for dating brands to lean in, to romanticise the dating experience and bring the magic back into the conversation.

That doesn’t mean ignoring the lows. Gen Z values honesty, they’ll see right through anything that feels fake or filtered. In fact, 41% of singles say they celebrate authentic dating content that shows both the highs and the heartbreaks.

How dating apps can fix their relationship with Gen Z

Romanticise and reframe. Don’t ignore the negatives but do bring the positives back into the frame.

Shifting the tone from: “find your soulmate” → “see what happens.”

Shifting the feeling from: Swipe fatigue → “it only takes one person for everything to shift”

Create a space where dating is an adventure, bring back the “anything could happen” feeling - the spark of meeting someone new, imagining where it might go, the new faces, stories, connections, and experiences.

Gen Z have been ghosted, breadcrumbed, unmatched - they’re over it. Their faith in dating apps has taken a hit, and right now, they’re focusing on the negatives. They’re deleting apps, not because they don’t want connection, but because they’ve stopped believing it’s possible.

So speak Gen Z’s language. Be honest. Acknowledge the burnout, don’t sugarcoat it.

Help them reframe their mindset around dating. Focus on the joy of the dating stage - the excitement, the flirting, the spark of possibility. Dating apps need to turn their attention to focusing on their role in being the catalyst for IRL moments this audience craves.

Don’t, however, ignore the negatives. Acknowledge the pain points of dating, talk about the real side of dating, highs and lows, the rollercoaster dating is. It’s about bringing the positives back into the conversation to reignite Gen Z’s excitement for dating apps again.

Because no dating app can promise that your next match will be ‘the one’. But it can bring back that fun, butterfly feeling - the little rush that reminds you why you showed up in the first place.

Dating apps can’t promise the fairytale, but they can spark endless possibilities.