More than half of young single men in the United States say they are not ready for a romantic relationship, according to a new survey.

Data from the Institute of Family Studies also found that 59% are reluctant to ask someone out because they fear rejection. Additionally, 62% of childless young men want to be a father. Of those Generation Z men who are fathers, 42% are married, while 58% are not.

Gen Z men feel increasingly unprepared for dating

% of single men aged 18-29 who agree with the statement ‘I am not ready to start a romantic relationship’

Data from other surveys has painted a similarly bleak picture of dating for young Americans. One survey, from the Kinsey Institute, suggested that 48% of Gen Z adults have never had sex. Another poll showed that one-third of Gen Z adults had never gone on a romantic date in their lives.

The new Institute of Family Studies survey also found that young American men are far more likely to look to family than celebrity when choosing role models. Mothers ranked highest, with 79% of respondents naming them as a leading influence, followed by fathers at 69%.

Among the public figures included in the survey — such as Donald Trump, LeBron James and Elon Musk — Andrew Tate ranked last as a role model. Barack Obama was the highest ranked public figure, with 57% of young men surveyed saying that they look up to the former president.

The survey also revealed widespread uncertainty about modern masculinity. Some 73% of respondents said it is harder to know what it means to be a man today than it was 20 to 30 years ago, while 69% agreed that manhood is often viewed negatively in society.

Prominent American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has suggested that dating apps are at least partly to blame for the decline in dating among Gen Z. He suggests this is because “a small number of men get all of the invitations, and that means they can become jerks.”

Haidt has also argued that smartphones and social media play a role more broadly. He suggests that they “deprive young people of social development” and make it harder to have face-to-face conversations.

The authors of the IFS study make a similar point. In the report, Joseph E. Davis, Michael Toscano, and Ken Burchfiel suggest that “the defining criteria for adulthood have changed,” and that young men believe these criteria are “less tangible” and “less connected to roles of spouse or parent or even employee”.