Young people are progressively abstaining from partaking in hookup culture. On most dating apps, people aged 25-34 and 35-44 years old make up the majority of the demographics. Within that, those identifying as male outnumber those identifying as female, nonbinary or other. Hinge remains the only app where 18-30-year-olds still make up the biggest proportion of its users. Tinder’s Green Flags Study also highlighted how 53% of male and 68% of female responders were seeking a serious relationship but believed that others on the app were solely interested in “something casual.” 

Concrete’s Sex Survey showed similar attitudes, wherein 61% of respondents have had 0-5 sexual partners, indicating that they have not (consistently) participated in hookup culture. Meanwhile, 26% of respondents reported 13 or more partners. The final 13% is comprised of those with 5-8 partners, which does not clearly indicate whether or not they have participated in hookup culture. Most participants (29%) in the survey claimed to have had 2-5 sexual partners, those reporting to have had one partner formed the next largest group at 19%. 

Additionally, the survey showed that 37% of participants chose “Single” as their relationship status, showing that a majority of students were either in some form of relationship or something “complicated.” Recently, eharmony found that 42% of singles were not sexually active. These behaviours are reflected within the National Survey for Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal) report regarding the UK’s trend of decreasing sexual appetites in recent years. Their upcoming report is forecasted to show a continuation of this trend. 

Natsal cited “disillusionment in heterosexual hookup culture” and the “search for spiritual and mental development” as some of the key reasons for the decline in sexual activity. Moreover, Tinder’s Study showed that most surveyors reported that they found dating difficult. In a recent Superdrug Online Doctor Survey, 18% of respondents said they were unsatisfied with their sex lives. Moreover, Norwich scored as the least sexually fulfilled city. They reported the lowest levels of “satisfaction, adventure, and frequency” in their sex lives. These trends regarding sexual activity have been reflected in several countries around the world, including in Japan and France. Recently, the French Institute of Public Opinion’s sex survey found that 28% of 18-24-year-olds had no sexual experiences, compared to 5% of young adults in 2006.  

Sex and relationship trends have also shown that celibacy, or going boysober, is in the cards for 2025. Subsequently, since 2021, the market values of major dating apps, such as Bumble, Tinder and Hinge, have dropped by £32 billion. According to analysts at investment bank Raymond James, “fast-paced swipe-based mechanics find less resonance” with those aged 18 to 24 years old. This cycle of dating has been seen to have led to disillusionment with hookup culture and dating apps. 

However, this does not mean a total abstention from sexual pleasure. Sexologist Aurore Malet Karas believes that effort-to-pleasure ratio of “real-life hook-ups” is part of the reason for the move away from dating apps. On the other hand, sex technologies and online platforms offer a low-effort mechanism for sexual pleasure that outweighed the ‘cost’ of hookups. Online sexshop, Lovehoney’s survey showed that, with the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis, “masturbation is at peak popularity.” They reported that 26% of surveyors reported having masturbated more since the start of the crisis.  

In moving away from hookup culture, nonconventional dating and relationships have seen an increase, including situationships, nanoships and polyamorous relationships, such as throuples. Additionally, in-person meet-cutes have been favoured, with slow dating and run clubs becoming a more favourable dating platform for some.  

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