are underemployed or unemployed, while young women are more fully employed and frequently outearn men. Our largely secular culture isn’t pro-marriage. More religious young people tend to marry earlier. They have been taught that marriage and children are a priority. They are less likely to have a series
of relationships that include sex but don’t lead to marriage. Also, if you don’t want children,
why marry? Scott Winship, American Enter-
prise Institute senior fellow and director of the Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility, points to seven possible reasons:
canceled or accused of something, and girls and young women being overly terrified of boys and young men.
1
2 3 4
Phones making people antisocial generally, or rather “virtually” social.
Ubiquitous free porn (maybe just a subcategory of phones).
Hookup apps obviating “courtship” (also maybe just a subcategory of
phones).
5 6 7
Inexperience in dating due to overparenting during teen years.
Declining interest in having children (relative to its cost).
Declining religiosity
Winship doesn’t believe it’s the economy. “Young men and women are doing
better than ever economically,” he says. “Buying a home is very diffi cult as a young adult if you’re not married, but that’s always been true, and most newlyweds in past generations rented.” Brad Wilcox, director of the
National Marriage Project and soci- ology professor at the University of Virginia, has spent a lot of time think- ing about why Gen Z isn’t marrying at normal rates.
Fallout from #MeToo — boys and young men being overly terrified of being
“The digital revolution has
robbed Gen Z of the opportunity to mix and mingle,” he says. “Social skills atrophy — because of both COVID and the digital revolution. So, they don’t have the confi dence to fl irt or reciprocate.” He thinks politics are key. “The
digital revolution has pushed young women to the left and young men to the right. Many young women can’t swallow the fact that a man that they might otherwise date voted for Trump.” Also, feminism has had a dire
infl uence. “There is a large share of young women who believe that marriage and motherhood will make them unhappy. They’re a ball and chain. So, they’re more hesitant about jumping into family life, and they invest in their careers instead.” Young women are doing well in
the workforce, while young men, to some degree, are fl oundering. Wilcox says that there’s a male
malaise. “A lot of young men didn’t go to college or trade school. They spend their days day trading or sports gambling online.” He believes that we should be doing
more to help young men fl ourish. What would help? Single-sex schools, for one thing, he says. More male teachers as role models. Strengthen the appeal of vocational education. Make the trades more attractive to young men. “Many guys need to recalibrate.
They can move to healthcare — be a paramedic. Get a degree. Do things that pay more than waiting tables.” He also believes that young men
need to demonstrate masculinity, be more protective, which is a big draw for women. “Be a leader, be confi dent and assertive. Show that you can act when required. A lot of that has been drummed out of boys.” Wilcox has data indicating that
30% of Gen Z will never marry, and a quarter will never have kids. Gen Z women have confl icting
never marry, and a quarter will never have kids.
30%
views about the dating apps that so many people think are to blame. For many people, the apps have worked. My own three daughters have all used the apps with general success in dat- ing leading to marriage. A 27-year-old woman who just graduated from law school, who preferred to speak anonymously, explained that, in her experience, “the apps work for people who are conventionally attractive. “You need to have things going
on in your life that you can describe. You must have a job. It helps to have a decent school.” In any case, usage of dating apps
like Hinge or Tinder is down among Gen Z. Only 26% of people under 30 have them on their phones. Newer apps are focused on getting
men and women out to events where they can meet in person. Wilcox rec- ommends apps that are more mar- riage-focused, like Keeper or Jdate. Another young woman noted, “It’s
hard to date when half the people out there are the product of divorce and are so much more skeptical.” This speaks to the larger point
that marriage has been devalued in a culture where it often doesn’t work out. The divorce rate is down from its peak but divorce is still common, and it often makes a deep impression on young people who lived through the pain of seeing their own family dissolve. Overall, it’s not a pretty picture,
and there are no obvious solutions to the problem in the short run. In the longer run, it’s time for our society to make a serious eff ort to educate young people about the virtues of marriage, and prepare them to be ready for it.
OCTOBER 2026 | NEWSMAX 23
of Gen Z will
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