I was watching a Valuetainment video that stated why 60% of Gen Z men aren’t dating. He thought it was because Gen Z men were anxious and socially awkward.
That’s not the reason Gen Z men aren’t dating at all.
The person who made the Valuetainment video was completely out of touch with today’s modern world Gen Z is experiencing. Things have changed a LOT since the late 90s and the early 2000s when the content creator was in the dating market.
In fact the world is a very different place than it was 30 years ago or even 40 years ago. Back in 1980, a teenager in high school worked a part time job for minimum wage at a McDonalds flipping burgers, or a Woolworth or supermarket stocking shelves or ringing up orders as a cashier. Some even got jobs in auto shops or working for mechanics. They could just walk in somewhere, ask for a manager, tell them they were looking for work and they had a job that same day working afterschool and on weekends.
Teens had MONEY to date because they worked jobs. And as they worked those entry-level jobs from 14-17 they got experience. By the time a kid turned 18, in 1980, they had worked for at least two to three years on the job.
So they could AFFORD to date and move out of their parents’ homes at 18. Or they could move out of the place they lived to a city. And when they arrived at that city with $800-$1000 on a Greyhound bus they could pound the pavement with a series of references from local jobs, and get a job making $300 a week in a week. If they went to college or secretarial school, they could make $500 a week.
And getting an apartment in 1980 was easy too. After securing that job a kid could talk directly to a landlord about an apartment and secure that place in that same city for a $200 security deposit and $600 for first and last months rent. A person could practically get their life started and have place to stay, a stable job and some money in the bank all at 18 years old.
If someone wanted transportation in 1980 you could get a used beater car for like a VW Beetle, Ford F100, a Chevy Impala, Buick skylark or Oldsmobile Cutlass or a $250-$500. Or if you made $500 a week you could buy yourself an entry level new car like a Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra, Dodge Omni or a Chevy Chevette for $5000.
Unfortunately, things aren’t that easy today. Starting in the 90s many Boomers in management took away the gateways to adulthood from young men and women that were given to them. When I graduated high school in 1992, a high school diploma wasn’t enough to be qualified to stock shelves, be a cashier, or fold sweaters at The Gap. No, you needed a to be a college student and have letters of recommendations to be considered for those jobs that paid minimum wage.
In the 90s a person needed a Bachelors degree to get an entry-level job as an administrative assistant, work in a mailroom, or a clerical job in an office. The same job a kid could get in 1980 with a high school diploma or being a college student. The same job that paid $300-$500 a week required someone to spend four years in college and get $200,000 in student loans to get.
In order to get an apartment things got more complicated as well. A person couldn’t go straight to a landlord anymore. No, had to go through a management company, pay an application fee, and they had to have a background check Then they had to wait for these to come back to be approved to get the apartment This cost anywhere from $2000-$3000.
It was getting harder to get jobs. And without a job most men didn’t have the disposable income to date.
As we went from the 90s to the 2000s the job market changed. As the internet began computerizing jobs, many of the entry level jobs like secretary typist, and messenger disappeared as companies used software like Microsoft Office . After 9/11 a person couldn’t pound the pavement and talk directly to a manager due to fears of people participating in a terrorist attack or a mass shooting. After 9/11 then you needed to be invited into an office to come there for an interview.
And that situation with jobs got worse after the 2008 recession. That’s when most jobs stopped being about personal interactions and paper applications. And everything went online. People had to apply online and wait to get ghosted. A situation that got even worse post COVID. Now in order for someone to apply for a job they have to fill out hundreds of applications online. And if they are lucky to get a response they have to go through a gauntlet of three, four, five and even six interviews before they get a job offer.
And management companies were creating more hurdles for getting apartments. In addition to insisting tenants having a job for a year, they’re charging people for an application fee, charge for a background check, a credit check, a and a reference check. In some bigger cities you need a guarantor to back you before you can even apply for the apartment.
Now if you are lucky to get approved for the apartment you have to have first and last month’s rent and a security deposit. Which can be several thousand dollars. Most studio and one bedroom apartments go for $2000-$3000 a month. So a person has to have at least $10,000-$12000 just to get their first apartment.
Which they have to try to get along with payments on a $200,000 student loan debt.
Not to mention buying a car costs anywhere from $10,000 for a used car to $50,000 for a new entry level car like a Ford Maverick or Toyota RAV4.
It’s a lot harder for a Gen Z to get their lives started as twentysomethings than boomers, Gen X and Millennials when the only jobs can get only pay $12-$17 an hour. Or if they’re lucky And that’s if they get through the five interviews. And having that job means they’ll have to deal with an erratic schedule where they have hours one day and may not have work hours the next. If they’re lucky they’ll be able to stay on the job for six months to a year.
Hard to think about dating when your work situation and home situation is unstable due to your finances being out of order.
The Math ain’t mathing for Gen Z. So most Gen Z ain’t dating. Not because they don’t want to but because they can’t afford it. Unfortunately most old folks just don’t count the cost on the numbers to see how they just don’t add up for most young people.
Most employers pay 1986 wages in 2026. So Gen Z men can’t afford to live life like their Baby Boomer, Gen X, Millennial counterparts. If a teen or a twentysomething gets some money these days they buy an Xbox PS5 game. Or they go out alone to buy manga. It’s all they can afford to do.
The dire economic situation gets compounded by the modern women Gen Z men deal with. In addition to the horrible job and housing market Gen Z men have to deal with the worst generation of women in history. Most Modern women have learned a culture of unrealistic expectations after three generations of feminist programming that teaches them to commodify men and not see them as people. Most Modern women are looking for a rich young man who is six feet tall, has six pack abs and makes six figures.
A social construct that doesn’t exist.
Along with the unrealistic expectations most modern women make it impossible to approach them. In the aftermath of the #MeToo movement, a man has to fear being arrested for harassment if he approaches a woman. He fears being fired if he simply says good morning to a woman. Because a simple allegation of sexual harassment from a woman to HR can get a man fired.
In between the economic instability and the hostile modern women, most Gen Z men have just walked away. This is why many men in other countries like China, Korea and Japan are “lying flat” they’ve given up on life because they just don’t see anywhere to go without an opportunity at a job or an opportunity to move themselves ahead.
Most Gen Z men have no reason to date because they get no support to go out in the world How can you go out and date without a job to pay for it? How can a man take a woman somewhere to get intimate when he can’t afford his own place?
A dude making $300-$500 a week in 2026 can’t afford to go on a date. $300-$500 from a part time job don’t spend like 1986. Dinner and a movie costs $250-$300. And a dude gotta pay for their bus fare, bills and their rent on that same income.
With everything costing so much and a man making so little, a man has to make a sacrifice for his survival. And in the post #MeToo era, Gen Z men have to sacrifice dating in order to maintain their freedom.
Until the economic situation changes for Gen Z men they won’t be able to afford to date. In order for a man to invest in a life in the world, we have to invest in them. Pay a Gen Z man a living wage where he can afford to live and he’ll participate in society. Get rid of the draconian punishments for looking at a woman the #MeToo movement established and men may approach women Get rid of the unrealistic expectations from commodifyg men and no fault divorce maybe working class men will want to build with women. In order for Gen Z men to date, they need an incentive to build a life. If companies and governments want their nations to grow then they have to plant the seeds by investing in their men. Take care of the men and they'll take care of society.
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