Can’t buy me love.
Millennials have a lot of things to complain about when it comes to their financial circumstances. Crushing student loan debt, the rising cost of living and the lack of well-paying jobs have made millennials into the most broke generation in contemporary history.
But new research showing that almost a third of millennials think dating is too expensive reveals Generation Me isn’t just short on money — but commitment.
Match.com’s Singles in America survey found that about 30 percent of adults between the ages of 22 to 37 feel their financial instability is hampering their dating game. And 21 percent of the millennials think they don’t even deserve love until they’ve reached a certain level of income, according to the study, which analyzed the dating habits of more than 5,000 US adults.
USA Today spoke with one such millennial who says dating “has gotten way too expensive.” The sad single reportedly spends hundreds of dollars a month on dates. He calls it “a completely worthless investment” — a winning attitude from someone seeking true love.
The 29-year-old government employee from St. Louis — a real Romeo — says he feels compelled to take his dates “somewhere nice” and adds that taking people out for coffee or ice cream instead of a full dinner will make them “think you’re being cheap when you’re really just trying to see if it’s all worth it.”
Nothing more romantic than a fine meal served with a tall glass of resentment! Although I can appreciate the sentiment behind taking your “nice” date out for a meal to match, there are less expensive — and more creative — ways to enjoy someone’s company: picnics, free events, antique hunting, bike riding.
Being broke can be embarrassing, but is keeping up with the Joneses that important to singles? Reports suggest that many singles are actually turned off by displays of wealth and success, with one recent study of some 64,000 women finding that while 88.9 percent of them insist on a partner who is kind, only 44.2 percent of ladies are concerned with financial security — which, by the way, isn’t the same thing as wealth.
Perhaps Mr. Midwest’s problem is less about his shallow bank account and more about his shallow ego. Heaven forbid he invest in finding a life partner!
Psychoanalysis aside, millennials may just be making excuses for their inability to commit: A 2018 survey of 1,000 singles between 18 to 25 years old — a mix of Gen Y and Z — found 39 percent of respondents believe committed relationships are boring. The study also found that 61 percent of women and 46 percent of men are afraid of “settling for someone for the wrong reason.”
In fact, they may be a little too concerned with their hyper-specific reasons. A recent Post report on millennials’ dating “dealbreakers” found young, urban adults breaking off relationships for a variety of idiosyncratic reasons — incompatible zodiac signs, taking photos of their food at dinner and disagreeing on the best Italian joint in town were among the absurd reasons to pass up a viable prospect.
With so many caveats and hurdles to clear in finding “the one,” it can seem like many millennials are cutting off their noses to spite their faces. Famed sex psych Dr. Ruth, who devoted a whole chapter to millennial dating in her new book, suggests young adults these days don’t know how to connect IRL anymore. She says those looking for love should try being more plugged in to their dates — not their phones.
She tells PageSix, “[Millennials have] lost the art of conversation because everyone is on their phone . . . What that will lead to, which is serious — is a lot of loneliness.”