Fewer than half of American high-schoolers have ever been on a date

Just 46% of US teenagers date at all – half the number of 1980

A recent report from the Institute of Family Studies shows that fewer than half of American high-school seniors today report ever having gone on a date. Data from 2024 indicates that just 46% of teenagers date at all – a decline of almost 50% compared with 1980.

The downturn began in the early 1990s. By 2000, the proportion of teenagers who dated had already fallen by seven percentage points. The trend continued gradually through the early 2000s before accelerating sharply in the era of smartphones and social media, when face-to-face interaction increasingly gave way to digital communication.

This shift reflects a broader retreat from social life that was identified long before smartphones existed. In his influential 2000 book Bowling Alone, political scientist Robert Putnam argued that Americans were becoming steadily less engaged in community organisations, social clubs, and civic life. At the time, Putnam suggested that television – and emerging internet use – might be contributing to growing isolation.

Subsequent research has reinforced those concerns. Psychologist Jean Twenge and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt have linked heavy social media use among young people to increased isolation, alongside higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide.

Teen dating patterns appear to be part of this wider withdrawal from in-person socialisation. In the 1980s, 88% of US 12th graders reported visiting friends at least once a week; by 2024, that figure had dropped to 69%. Attendance at parties has also fallen sharply, from 74% reporting monthly participation in the 1980s to just 44% today. Increasingly, teenagers spend their free time alone at home, connected to others primarily through screens.

Some researchers caution against viewing the decline in teen dating as entirely negative. Certain studies suggest that adolescents who do not date may develop stronger social skills and experience lower levels of depression. However, the broader implications are more troubling. Surveys indicate that around half of young adults now cite low self-confidence as a barrier to dating, while roughly 40% point to a lack of experience.

These trends may have long-term consequences. Reduced socialisation in adolescence can shape adult relationships, contributing to later difficulties in forming partnerships, marrying, and starting families. For an international audience watching similar debates unfold elsewhere, the US experience offers a cautionary example of how digital life, while expanding virtual connection, may be reshaping – and shrinking – the foundations of real-world social and emotional bonds.