A new study by the National Youth Council and Institute of Policy Studies found that two in five young Singaporeans aged 17-24 have never been in a relationship. The top reasons cited were not meeting the right person, prioritizing career goals, and finding dating stressful. This article explores this trend and contrasts it with past generations' dating habits.
Two in five young Singapore ans have never been in a relationship. Is that a problem? Writer Tracy Lee weighs in.
As a Gen X-er, I was rather flummoxed by the study’s findings. During my time, it was considered normal among my peers to have crushes when we were 13 or 14, start going on group dates from 15 onwards, and then have a string of short-lived sort-of relationships. In my university days, most undergrads - even the shyest ones and the late bloomers - were happily attached and had applied for an HDB together by their final year. Their flat would be ready in three years’ time, by which they would have settled into their careers and saved enough for their wedding, downpayment and home renovations.My nieces and nephews, all in their 20s, did not date that much in their teens, preferring to stay home cooped up in their rooms, or to hang out with their friends.
His girlfriend G, 23, explained that while parents might be worrying and wondering why young people don’t seem to be going out on dates, many of them are actually busy socialising from the comfort of their rooms. They could be swiping on a dating app in between online gaming, chatting with friends and so on.
My ex-boss, who’s in her 60s, confided in me that the worst decade of her life was her 20s: “My parents, relatives, colleagues, friends and even just society in general, seemed to be rushing me to find someone and get hitched and have babies … since I was single then, I felt like a terrible failure and that there was something horribly wrong about me.”
A survey of unmarried Japanese people aged 20 to 49 found that 34 per cent had never dated. The most common reason that women gave for not wanting marriage was because it limits their lifestyles, while the top reason given by men was the loss of financial freedom.
Singapore Youth Relationships Dating Study
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