Young people want a serious relationship, but they go out on dates less and less often: What most often holds men back

It's often said that apps and the culture of short-term relationships have extinguished the desire for a serious relationship. A new American study offers a more complex picture: desire hasn't disappeared, but dating habits, self-confidence and a sense of financial security have weakened. For young men, the message is especially important - many have not given up on intimacy, but are just not sure how to make the first move.

The National Dating Landscape Survey surveyed 5.275 single Americans ages 22 to 35. Among those who expect to get married one day, only 31 percent went out on dates at least once a month. 36 percent of men and 26 percent of women were actively dating, while only about a third of young people had strong confidence in their dating skills.

For men, financial pressure was particularly evident: 58 percent said they didn't have enough money to go out, compared to 46 percent of women. Only 29 percent of young men felt confident about approaching someone they liked. This isn't to say that all dating problems are a matter of budget or courage, but it does debunk the simple assumption that men just "don't want commitment."

There is also an important limitation: this is an American study and the results cannot be automatically applied to the Balkans or the entire generation Z. However, there is a recognizable gap between the expectation that a meeting must be expensive, perfect and immediately successful and the reality in which trust is built through practice. A coffee, a walk, an exhibition or a joint activity can be a better start than an evening that creates financial and emotional pressure.

For a man who wants a relationship, a useful first step is not to act completely confident, but to take a clear and unobtrusive initiative: a concrete invitation, a simple plan, and a calm acceptance of possible rejection. Dating confidence doesn’t come before experience, it comes through experience. If the “dating recession” is partly a skills crisis, then the solution isn’t more profile analysis, but more decent conversations in real life.

Article prepared with the support of AI tools.