Romance experts weigh in on why Gen Z is breaking up with dating apps and bringing back meet-cutes

They are single and ready to mingle but young Aussies are ditching online hook-ups for old-fashion meet-cutes. A relationship expert explains why.

Gen Z is ditching the apps and going back to old-fashioned, in real life meet-ups in the search for true love.

Dating and relationship coach Karina Chapman said “online dating fatigue” was leaving young singles feeling hopeless with many exhausted by the repetitive nature of trying to find a partner.

“(On the apps) you’re almost hypnotised by swiping left (and) right and you’re not even looking at really anything about that person or connecting so it feels very distant,” Ms Chapman said.

While Gen Zers are single and ready to mingle, Ms Chapman said they lack the skills needed to make sparks fly in person.

“Research does show that there has been a big decline in social skills in Gen Z through Covid because so many people make friends at work and they were shut away not able to do that normal social thing at work … so then with the dating thing it is even more pressure in person,” she said.

Dating and relationship coach and conscious connection expert Karina Chapman. Picture: Supplied

While the conscious connection expert acknowledged the world of dating could be “daunting” she encouraged those looking for their special someone to “take the pressure off” and consider the friends first approach.

“Finding new people to be friends with feels easier than finding the love of your life to date,” Ms Chapman said.

“Join a club or an organisation that may be in alignment with (your) interest or passion … because then you’re meeting other people who already have some of the same interests as you.

“This sort of thing will get (Gen Z) flexing their ability to connect and communicate better and take the pressure off and because they’re not focused on dating they might actually find someone to date.”

Ms Chapman said human connection is “crucial” to our overall wellbeing with face-to-face interactions leading to better outcomes.

“The better you can get at making authentic connections in person then the more likely you are to find love faster,” she said.

“We can just get a lot more information from five minutes in person than we can in five hours online.”

Gen Z are over dating apps and looking to find love in person again. Picture: File

One South Aussie helping young locals find connection is Rylee Cooper from Date Night Adelaide which has a combined following of more than 100k across Instagram and TikTok.

From anonymous note parties to date my mate PowerPoint nights, Ms Cooper’s events bring people together outside of their screens.

The 26-year-old said she aimed to remind her followers “dating should be fun”.

“The purpose of these events was to remove every barrier that kind of exists subconsciously in your head as to why you wouldn’t just approach somebody in real life and have a conversation,” Ms Cooper said.

“I’m very much a social person … so I wanted to create something that allowed other people to do that as well to kind of … practice socialising.”

Rylee Cooper from Date Night Adelaide. Image/Russell Millard Photography

The PowerPoint dating event asks punters to “pitch” their single friends using slides to a room of others looking to find love.

“We literally have just 10 people present to this crowd (and) we have QR codes on the back of seats so if they like somebody who’s being pitched to them they can scan the QR code and send a little message through,” Ms Cooper said.

“Some people have gotten dates out of it, some people have just made good friends.

“People always have a good chat, people always have a good time.”

Ms Cooper’s events have repeatedly gone viral on social media with tickets selling out in minutes.

As a “born and bred” South Australian she said her gatherings were for “whatever (attendees) want to use them for”.

“I’m really sick of hearing that idea that you know everybody in Adelaide if you know like 10 people,” she said.

“I love love …(and) I think that people are looking for a human connection in like whatever kind of relationship, whether it is a friendship or an actual romantic relationship.”