Springtime has long been associated with love and romance, with college campuses being the ideal spot for many young couples to meet. 

For decades, college romances had the highest success rate with over 50 percent of relationships ending in marriage. That number rose to 65 percent in 2014, as reported by Pew Research Center. 

But while divorce rates still remain lower among college sweethearts than others, marriage rates for that population took a dramatic turn with Covid, dropping to just 15 percent in 2020. 

Post-pandemic marriage trends have yet to bounce back, and “romantic relationships” among young people in general are at a record low. Studies theorize that the impact of the pandemic combined with the growing popularity of social apps play a crucial role in the decline of budding love.

“People have less social skills,” Rianna Fajarado, 21, a psychology student at Diablo Valley College jokingly suggested. One reason is that “there’s online classes now, and people are less likely to reach out.”

Most colleges have adjusted to post-pandemic trends, in which students increasingly show preferences to use non-verbal communication within their peer groups.

Simply put, “people are online nowadays,” said Angelina Lafradez, 19, a student at DVC. 

“At school, you’re not really in person” as much, she said, so “people are not in touch.”

Most Gen Zers blame Covid for fundamentally altering their lives regarding social behaviors and increased stress. Many students say they struggle to form new relationships at college due to anxiety. 

“I would say it’s just gotten more tense and awkward to talk to people in real life,” Eddie Avalos, 21, a sociology student here, said.

Anxiety has been linked to an overall stunt in relationship maturity among Gen Z, according to the American Enterprise Institute’s Survey Center. Students who attend class on campus avoid in-person interactions outside their immediate social circle.

“I haven’t had many interactions here with other students,” said 18-year-old biology major Tabatha Gonzalez. “I feel like everyone is in their own world.” 

But studies show that quarantine may have exacerbated a preexisting condition. 

Gen Z was predisposed to “shyness” even before the Covid-19 pandemic. Inundated with information, Gen Z, the “true digital native generation,” had the world on their smartphones. Social media apps like TikTok and Instagram increased their “news stories” up to 90 percent in 2020. 

Young users were exposed to issues on a global scale, witnessing the economic downturn of 2008, a series of school shootings, the increasingly visible impacts of climate change, not to mention a deadly worldwide virus. Overloaded with information and loose monitoring, this fearful generation has sought self preservation over socialization — perhaps in some way with good reason. 

“People are more scared…we just stayed inside of our homes for so long we got scared to interact with others,” Ursula Coelho, 21, a psychology major here, said. 

But it’s easy to point at technology for the loss of genuine connection when another culprit may be at fault for the decline in young relationships.

In 2023, only 17.9 percent of households had married couples with children. Fewer people are getting married and more unmarried people are having children. With less examples of “traditional marriages” and an increase in divorce, cohabitation and solo parenting, Gen Z appears simply less likely to jump into long-term relationships. 

This may reflect the way that young adults have changed their views generally on the importance of marriage, no longer seeing it as a life goal or even necessary to start a family. Perhaps, these modern relationships mimic these new undefined family units,  

But it’s not all bad for love on campus. Young adults are investing more in mental health, career goals and self improvement. The “self love” movement, which became popular in 2017 is still a large part of the Millennial and Gen Z lifestyle. 

For these generations, the stigma of going to therapy has also shifted, as 55 percent of Gen Zs and Millennials report that they go on a regular basis to see a therapist, and one in four say they plan to stay indefinitely, according to the Thriving Center of Psychology. 

A Tinder study found that 81 percent of young adults said that being single benefits them in a positive way when it comes to career, friendships, fitness and hobbies. New views on being single have also decreased the pressure for young adults to say “I do” before they feel ready as Gen Z embraces the “single life.” 

Surprisingly, Gen Z is now apparently more interested in finding love organically — meeting the old-fashioned way, face to face — without the use of dating apps, citing that the apps are “cringe.” In fact, many Gen Zers and their college peers are turning away from dating apps all together. 

Now, caution and greater consideration seem to be at the forefront of young love. When dating, Gen Zers also report having less one-night stands than previous generations. 

For students like Gonzalez, the online option for finding romance just doesn’t appeal.

  “No! I wouldn’t use the apps,” Gonzalez said with a cringe. “I just don’t think that’s a very natural way of going about it.”