Cuffing season, situationships and “puriteens”. What are Gen Z’s perceptions of sex, love and relationships? Let’s take a Deep Dive.

📱 Gen Z are more likely to prioritise friendships over romantic relationships. They are also more likely to use technology such as dating apps to meet people and communicate with friends and partners.

🌈 Gen Z has a significant number of people who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. They are generally more open to non-traditional dating scenarios such as open relationships and polyamory.

💗 While more accepting of casual relationships, Gen Z is having sex later, less often and with fewer partners. Some are also being labelled “puriteens”, a term used to describe a teenager who is uncomfortable with sexual content online or behaviour they deem sexually suggestive.

86% 86 percent of Gen Z believe that same-sex marriage should be allowed, as opposed to only 72 percent of millennials and 57 percent of Gen Xers.

30% In 2021, 30 percent of teens reported having had sex, down from 38 percent in 2019. Three decades ago, more than half of teens reported having sex.

366 million The use of online dating platforms is on the rise. Up from 240.9 million in 2016, 366 million people were on dating apps in 2022.

The following are reasons why Gen Z is doing the deed less, except: 

A. Anxiety about sexual consent and boundaries
B. Disappointment with the current dating culture 
C. Issues with technology
D. Slow-life factor

Scroll to the bottom for the answer.

Thanks to digitalisation and easy access, Gen Z is more accepting of pornography as an acceptable way to express one’s sexuality. This mindset is in stark comparison to their parents’ generation. Yet, Gen Z is still engaging in less sex than previous generations. 

🤕 Flings and things. Studies show that casual sex may lead to poor effects on the mental health of both men and women.

🦄 Swiping right. Members of the LGBTQ+ community are more likely to try online dating than their heterosexual peers. 

💯 Quality over quantity. Gen Z is values-driven when it comes to dating, emphasising the need for honesty, setting boundaries and self-expression in relationships. 

🌡 Covid-19 comparison. The pandemic has caused many Gen Z to experience feelings of loneliness, isolation and social anxiety, which has in turn affected their appetite for romance and the way they physically interact with their partners.

Zoomers open up about their reasons for having less sex in this streetside interview.

These are some of the types of relationships that millennials and Gen Z are engaged in.

If you’re wondering what’s next in Gen Z dating trends, the answer is: maybe nothing at all. With different goals in mind, it seems that Zoomers are quite content with being single.

The answer to the quiz is C (Issues with technology).