Not enough opportunities to get together: Young Singaporeans on the challenges of dating these days

SINGAPORE: Some of the young people featured in a recent interview on the Asian Boss YouTube channel said that in today’s dating scene, they face a lack of events that bring people together. One pointed out that while there are many online dating sites available, meeting someone face-to-face is still ideal.

Asian Boss posted its street interview called “Have Young Singaporeans Given up on Dating?” earlier this month, and it provides an interesting look at how the city-state’s youth feel about romantic relationships these days.

Many young people are more focused on their studies and starting their careers, and are, at the moment, “single by choice”. However, they did speak of the pressure they felt to pair up and have children, especially given Singapore’s plummeting birth rate.

Read related: Thousands of SG people signed up for ‘Single-pore’ dating event started by expat on TikTok

Finding a partner these days is not so easy, a number of the interviewees said. One young woman said, “There aren’t enough third spaces or free community events” where people can meet and mingle.

While she said that “good people exist everywhere”, she added, “It’s just like a probability thing. People aren’t chancing upon each other as often.”

A young man opined that in-person interactions still work better than meeting over dating apps, which makes it challenging if there isn’t much opportunity for face-to-face meet-ups.

Not meeting up means not making connections, his friend chimed in.

It seems that young Singaporeans today are more self-aware and less apt to settle for less than what’s ideal in relationships. The interviewees said that when people do meet up, finding someone who’s a good match can be challenging since people have different goals, energies, and personalities.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) published the first Family Trends Report. It showed that in the past 10 years, the median age of first marriage has gone up. In 2013, men got married at an average age of 30.2. Last year, the average age for first-time grooms was 31. As for the women, in 2013, they got married by the age of 28.1. Last year, the average age of brides was 29.5.

Another study from the National Youth Council and Institute of Policy Studies showed that two out of five Singaporeans aged between 17 and 24 have never been in a relationship. /TISG

Read also: “I will probably be single for life” — Woman says the worst decision she made in her life was not dating during uni years