What dating in 2026 is really like, according to Redditors

Recently, single women told Mashable that dating in 2026 is, in a word, bleak. But that opinion seems to transcend gender. Take a look at any dating or dating-adjacent subreddit, and you'll find people saying that trying to find a partner sucks. Posts range from users hating their dates to not having luck finding a date at all. A throughline between all these differences is an overwhelming dissatisfaction. Of course, these being people from Reddit, it's bound to skew negative, but it does at least say something about what dating is like for a segment of the population. Mashable reached out to several men on Reddit, all of whom chose to be anonymous to speak freely about their experiences (and, thus, we also have to take their takes with a bit of skepticism). And I chatted with men's dating coach, Connell Barrett, about his thoughts on what dating is like for men right now, too. AdultFriendFinder — readers’ pick for casual connections Hinge — popular choice for regular meetups Wading through the muck of r/onlinedating, r/dating_advice, and other subreddits, I came across a post I believed was ragebait. I can't copy and paste it here now, as it has been deleted from Reddit, but to su