Television often paints a distorted, idyllic version of the real world. If you were to tune in to high-school dramas such as Never Have I Ever or The Summer I Turned Pretty, you might get the impression that teenage life is like it has always been. Hormones are high, relationships are rocky, and everyone is dating.

A few decades ago, this would have been fairly close to reality. Survey data shows that throughout the late Seventies and into the Eighties, roughly 85% of high-school seniors reported going out on dates frequently, and about half reported going on a date once a week or more.

Today, the story is very different. According to a new report from The Institute of Family Studies, less than half of all high-school seniors report ever going on dates.

The decline in high-school dating began at the turn of the Nineties. By 2000, the share of high schoolers who dated had fallen by seven percentage points. This downward trend continued through the 2000s, before plummeting in the smartphone era. Data from 2024 shows that just 46% of teens go on dates — a fall of almost 50% since 1980.

Half as many teenagers go on dates compared to the Eighties

% of American 12th graders who say they ever go on dates

In 2000, long before the dominance of smartphones, Robert Putnam identified the broader trend in his book Bowling Alone. He argued that Americans had been withdrawing from social life for decades, that community organizations had been hollowed out, and that trust in civic institutions had fallen. Television, Putnam suggested, was one cause for this decline — preliminary evidence at the time pointed to internet use increasing social isolation. Since then, his initial concerns about the internet have been entirely vindicated. Academics Jean Twenge and Jonathan Haidt have demonstrated how social media isolates young adults and, in turn, increases depression, anxiety, and suicide rates.

The teen dating recession is part of this broader social withdrawal. In the Eighties, 88% of 12th graders visited friends at least weekly. In 2024, that fell to 69%. In the Eighties, 74% of high-school seniors went to a party at least monthly. In 2024, just 44% reported the same. Teens are now cooped up in their homes, scrolling alone.

While it’s easy to lament this trend, dating in high school is only part of a successful teenage experience. Some research suggests that teenagers who do not date have better social skills and lower rates of depression. This may be encouraging, but these trends represent a broader trend away from socialization, lasting consequences for life and love. A new study suggests that half of young men and women report a lack of self-confidence as a barrier to dating, and about 40% cite a lack of dating experience as a personal concern.

The inherent problem here is that the turn away from socialization and dating is fueling what has been called the “closing of the American heart”. Americans are having greater difficulty finding love, getting married, and starting a family. That’s important, in part, because no adults are happier than married mothers and fathers. But judging by the dating recession evident among teenagers, it looks like America can expect both fewer marriages and, arguably, a broader pursuit of a key component that contributes to a happy life.