By Ace Grado / Staff Writer

For Generation Z, dating doesn’t always start with a chance meeting. At Missouri Valley College, many students say relationships often begin with a screen instead of face-to-face interactions.

For student Naomi Curry, dating on campus feels casual but complicated. “From my experience here at Valley, everybody is easygoing,” Curry said. “And nobody knows how to keep themselves to themselves.”

For many Gen Z students, dating apps like Tinder are just another way to meet people. Mar Doering, a sociology student and researcher, said technology has expanded how people connect.

“Of course, the advent of technology and the expansion in the ways that people can connect globally, immediately, and frequently has made it so that people have a broader landscape of dating,” Doering said.

Still, social media has changed the way people express affection. Flowers, handwritten notes, and long conversations are often replaced by likes, DMs, and snaps, gestures that can feel less personal. “I think social media can make things a lot less romantic, personally,” Curry said.

Even so, meaningful connections can still happen, whether online or in person. “I have a lot of in-person friends, and then I have a lot of social media friends,” Curry said. “You can meet somebody either way.”

Doering said while dating culture looks different today, love itself hasn’t gone anywhere. “People still go on dates, people still use dating apps. If they didn’t, we wouldn’t have them,” she said. “I think it’s just changing.”

Whether alone or with somebody, love never really ends; it just evolves with time. How Social Media Is Reshaping Modern Romance for Generation Z.