The New Year is a time for taking stock, making resolutions and figuring out what you want from the next 12 months. If you're single, this can mean reconsidering whether you're in the market for a relationship — or really not.
According to new research by dating app Happn, more than a third (37%) of Gen Z and millennials are looking for a relationship in 2022. Nearly as many (32%) are ideally looking for marriage.
Dating expert Ipek Kucuk suggested that the pandemic may have given people in this age bracket — 18 to 34-year-olds — an extra incentive to contemplate their romantic prospects. After all, it can feel as though we've lost a full year of dating.
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"Singles have had a tough time of late," she said. "Love lives have been put on pause for much longer than expected, and with that has come more than enough time to assess our successes and failures, and hopefully learn a few lessons along the way too."
Happn also found that the number one quality Gen Z and millennials want in a partner is the ability to be caring; 40% of people said this is important to them. Nearly as many (39%) cited kindness, while more than one in three (35%) said they place a premium on someone's sense of humour.
The most important physical characteristic — which 61% of people said they look for — is a friendly smile. This could be worth bearing in mind next time you update your profile pic.
Kucuk also re-iterated the importance of looking for the relationship that suits you — not anyone else or society in general.
"I want you to remember that above anything else - those pestering family members or friends, for example — whether you want to pursue a romantic relationship or not, is your choice," she said. "You may not always feel in total control of your love life, and that’s ok, but there’s no harm in reminding yourself that your choice matters the most. 2022 is yours after all."
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