Dating Hell and Joshing Around
after school weekend edition
Welcome back to After School Weekend Edition. Think of the Monday-Thursday letters as the CliffsNotes; this is the extended version for paid subscribers.💫
Today we’re talking about:
“Dating apps are literally hell” (I talked to 7 Gen Zers about love!)
Calftox
Reverse walking
Rearscaping
Sleepy girl mocktails
Gen Z yellow
Slavic girl winter
The first viral shoe of 2024
The next Samba
The Toryssance
#Ropebraids
Boyfriend bangles
Big week for men named Josh
Plus everything else that happened this week in youth culture and what I’m buying/reading/listening to. Before we jump in, my favorite TikTok of the week:
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HOW DOES GEN Z REALLY FEEL ABOUT DATING APPS?
This week, I briefly mentioned in the newsletter that I believe there’s an enormous market opportunity when it comes to young people and dating. The topic also came up when I was on CNBC talking about Gen Z trends on Wednesday. (It’s not just you, that sentence made me cringe, too, but if there’s a way to casually mention you were on CNBC, I don’t know it!)
Just look at some headlines from the last year: "Gen Z Is Leaving Dating Apps Behind.” “Dating Apps Are In Their Flop Era.” “Why Online Dating Isn’t a Perfect Match for Generation Z.” “Is Gen Z Killing Dating Apps?” “How Inflation and Loneliness Are Killing Gen Z's Dating Game.”
The apps are obviously not working, so young people are seeking out other ways to meet people, some more promising than others: “Gen Z is Using Instagram to Date.” “Tired of Dating Apps, Some Turn to ‘Date-Me Docs.’” “The Hottest New Dating Site: Linked In.” “Speed Dating Is Making a Comeback.” “A Singles Party, Where Chaos Is the Point.”
All of these headlines only raise more questions, so I reached out to a few Gen Zers to learn more about why dating apps are so bad now, what they could be doing to improve, and whether young people are really meeting partners on LinkedIn, and Google Docs, and speed dating functions?