American teenagers are dating less than ever
February 13, 2026
Television often paints a distorted, idyllic version of the real world. If you were to tune in to high-school dramas such as Never Have I Ever or The Summer I Turned Pretty, you might get the impression that teenage life is like it has always been. Hormones are high, relationships are rocky, and everyone is dating.
A few decades ago, this would have been fairly close to reality. Survey data shows that throughout the late Seventies and into the Eighties, roughly 85% of high-school seniors reported going out on dates frequently, and about half reported going on a date once a week or more.
