With the rise of casual relationships, frequent breakups and half-night stands, many people assume that the new generation is rather detached. But they care, probably too much—and hence, the need to protect their feelings. Having said that, several studies show that millennials and gen Zs feel more strongly about climate change than any other generation.
While growing up, the only things I knew about living consciously were not littering, energy-efficient use of ACs and donating/recycling old clothes. With that, I felt like I was doing my bit, until I grew up and realised that these things are the bare minimum—and many people don’t even care about that.
Today, our knowledge is expanding, as we have more resources to learn from about climate change, and what we can do about it. It’s like gender equality and deserves immediate attention by all—even those who are not directly impacted by it, at least not right now. But does climate advocacy impact our dating choices? Let’s find out.
It’s a march!
While I am not on any dating apps right now, I have spent some time getting the hang of swiping. Honestly, things seem to have changed a lot since I last swiped. Of course, many people are still virtually running to their app store and downloading every single dating app there is, the moment a breakup befalls them. Between people licking their wounds and those who think ‘labels’ can be incriminating, online dating can be predictably boring—for me. But it seems like things are evolving as gen Zs are connecting over causes they stand for.
According to a 2019 Tinder report, youngsters are more likely to mention the causes they support and the ideologies they stand for on their dating app profiles. Youngsters today don’t want just any match, they want one they can march with, even if symbolically speaking. The same study mentions that phrases like ‘climate change’ and ‘environment’ topped the list of things zoomers care about.
Dhwani, a 22-year-old media professional says, “I met my boyfriend on Bumble and the first thing I loved about him was that he felt as passionately about conscious living as I did. Instead of the mundane conversations, somehow we ended up talking about how plastic disposables are causing the earth to get hotter.” She added that whenever they go out on dates, they ensure there is no food wastage and they keep their takeaways to a minimum.
Climate Crisis and compatibility
All of us know at least a few people who find any and every conversation around climate and environment to be a snooze fest. The moment you display any accountability towards our home planet, their mind shuts down like the mimosa plant. Between someone whose conversations around climate change are drenched in soulful passion and someone who gives zero hoots about it, the compatibility can be expectedly at an all-time low.
Also, even those who are trying to maintain a conscious lifestyle, aren’t doing it all at the same level. “I was dating this guy for a bit who decided to travel as sustainably as possible. Whenever we would think of going on a trip, it had to be an eco-conscious place or we wouldn’t go at all. While those properties are equally great, I had a hard time having all the places I wanted to stay at, eliminated,” Asmita, a 28-year-old business development professional revealed. She added that while she was trying to get sustainable with her fashion and beauty choices, she wasn’t at the same stage as her ex. It eventually led to quarrels and they ended things.
Having completely different lifestyles can immensely impact your compatibility, irrespective of which side of the climate crisis you are on. The thing is, almost all human activities are impacting the environment right now, and we as a planet, are a little too late in adapting more conscious ways of doing things. We are used to certain things that made our lives so convenient that we refuse to think about the consequences of the temporary forms of indulgence.
No climate advocacy is becoming a deal-breaker
Apart from ‘gender equality’, you will find ‘climate change’ mentioned in each one of Shama, a digital marketing professional’s dating profiles. These are the two things that Shama believes the world needs, and urgently at that. “It says a lot about a person if they don’t give two hoots about issues that are not directly impacting their lives, but is harming several others. And I don’t want someone like that. At least be aware of things, and make some effort in reducing your carbon footprint,” Shama expresses.
The dating app Bumble allows users to place badges of the causes they advocate for. In April 2022, OKCupid revealed there was a 368 per cent increase in the users talking about climate change in their profiles, as compared to five years ago.
Meanwhile, Niharika, a 30-year-old HR professional, feels the badge is just an effort to make yourself sound as good as possible. You know, how so many people call themselves a hodophile after going on one Himachal trip a year ago. “People know that caring about climate change and living consciously is attractive to us when we are looking to date. Many people tend to exploit that information and pretend to be concerned,” Niharika explained.
Hence, while it is heartening to see so many youngsters caring about climate change and the environment, only time will tell if the fire remains burning, or if it will fade like a fad.