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| -Great Cultural Revolution |
| Gen Z thinks they're so special, they can't even deal with romantic relationships |
| 2026-10-13 |
| [NYPost] A new book makes the case that Gen Zers are struggling to find love and build relationships because their parents taught them to be self-centered and uncompromising. I don’t disagree. According to Daniel Cox, senior fellow in polling and public opinion at the American Enterprise Institute, parents have treated their children as so special, so unique, so important, that they’ve discouraged them from building the skills of compromise, self-sacrifice, and teamwork that are so necessary for successful relationships. “More families are raising incredibly accomplished young people who are struggling with… what they owe other people,” he writes in his book new book “Generation Uncoupled: America’s New Gender Divide and the Crisis of Human Connection,” out Tuesday. “[For Gen Z,] simple acts of empathy and selflessness feel radical and even dangerous.” As a Gen Zer myself, I think he’s right. My generation approaches dating as a practice of self-realization, rather than a means to building durable partnerships. It’s all about what we want, as though the other person is a prop in our lives. “One of the things that struck me most in doing the research and reporting this book is how we no longer think that we ought to be beholden to anyone else,” Cox told me. “Either because we’re so special, or because we want autonomy and independence, there’s a real sense that we don’t want any kind of constraints — and there’s a real downside to that.” As families grow smaller, the amount of time and investment poured into individual children has exploded. Parents are organizing their family life, work, vacations and personal schedules to cater to the growing needs and whims of the modern child — which all sends the message that you are the center of the universe. Cox, who is director of the Survey Center on American Life, has a treasure trove of data to back up his point, and the surveys make clear that young people simply aren’t prioritizing relationships and partnership as previous generations once did. Barely half of Gen Z say they had a boyfriend or girlfriend in their teen years, and only about half of teens believe it’s very likely that they’ll remain married to the same person for most of their life, Cox reports. Their parents seem not to care too much, either. Less than half of young men and young women say their parents discussed the importance of finding a partner or spouse at least occasionally. Instead, they’ve been taught to prioritize personal success, independent of others. No wonder nearly half of Americans under 30 are currently single. “Parents are emphasizing financial stability and security and getting an education, and much less so emphasizing the importance of getting married and having kids,” Cox said. “As parents have fewer kids, they invest more resources in them. There’s this culture of competition that’s come up around kids and needing them to excel.” Parental selflessness, I agree, is contributing to an epidemic of selfishness. And if your parents bend to your every need, why shouldn’t your future partner, too? “Modern parenting priorities that emphasize personalized experiences have come at the expense of providing discipline, direction, and formation,” Cox writes. “When kids are encouraged to define themselves before they understand their place in the world, selfhood becomes their north star.” |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
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| Posted by: trailing wife 2026-10-13 11:58 |
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| Posted by: Besoeker 2026-10-13 10:58 |
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| Posted by: Skidmark 2026-10-13 10:31 |