For decades, hookup culture has been seen as exciting and liberating, different from strict traditional courtship. But now, Gen Z is shifting away from short-lived lust and desiring more committed relationships.

According to a 2025 YouGov-Times survey, only 23 percent of Gen Zers admitted to engaging in casual hookups, with 52 percent of Gen Z dating app users seeking long-term relationships — more than any other generation.

“I’m not a fan of hookup culture. When I think of it, I think of meaningless sex, it feels gross to me,” says Andrew Engen, 22, a third-year business major at Diablo Valley College.

Hookup culture, according to the National Institutes of Health, is described as casual intimacy ranging from kissing to intercourse, which is both expected and accepted among young adults, especially on college campuses.

A Fall 2025 survey conducted among DVC students found that 34 out of 53 respondents, or nearly two in three, said dating is worse in the digital age than previously.

While some admitted there were upsides to online dating, most agreed the cons outweighed the pros.

“It is much worse. Dating apps are like catalogues,” said one anonymous person in the survey. “If one doesn’t work out, there is always another.”

Others, like Erin Moton, a third-year student at DVC, agree.

“Romance barely exists, and if it does, it’s not online,” says Moton, 20.

“I think it’s worse because it’s become very lustful,” she adds. “I think dating apps and instagram translate to hookup culture because it’s such easy access to short-term pleasure and connections.”

In the survey, over 80 percent of respondents said they have either been part of hookup culture or know someone who has.

At the same time, an overwhelming 93 percent of those surveyed said they would prefer long-term happiness over short-term pleasure.

So why do so many people engage in something that leads to unhealthy and unsteady attachments?

“I think people may keep participating in it largely due to social reasons. If you think everyone around you is doing it, you feel pressured to participate just to fit in,” says Engen.

“Also culture, [like] movies, music, social media, and dating apps still market it,” he adds, and  “a lot of it is built around casual connection.”

Yet second-year student Frank Quintanilla, 20, has a contrasting take on the impact of hookup culture among Gen Z.

“Hookup culture is looked down upon universally, but there are tangible benefits,” says Quintanilla, “like focusing on yourself and being intimate, without having emotional baggage with that person.”

Quintanilla says the criticism of hookup culture is linked to purity culture — which he describes as a religious-fueled movement that prioritizes modesty, and relates purity to personal worth — arguing that both extreme views can have negative consequences.

Engen suggests that for many, hookup culture taints the idea of committed relationships.

“It makes getting into a relationship more difficult because hookup culture allows you to objectify people more,” he says.

“It makes people search for partners just for looks as opposed to finding partners for a deeper feeling.”

Moton agrees that the contrast in romantic choices can be stark.

“It’s emotionless, [but] sex is something emotional. With hookup culture you lack that connection,” Moton says.

“When one starts with hookup culture, it’s not easy to not do it anymore.”

Azlan Brown, a third-year student here, says the short-term nature of studying at a place like DVC could also contribute to hookup culture.

“I can’t say I am in the know on the dating scene at DVC,” Brown says.

But, “my guess is that because this is a community college full of people who want to transfer, there is a fair amount of people seeking out short-term satisfaction, but there are also people who want something long-term but settle for less.”

Brown explains why, in his mind, hookup culture is unnatural.

“I hate it, it’s sex without love, it’s objectification. It’s trying to have the beauty of the person without the person,” he says.

“I think that’s the wrong attitude to have in the context of relationships.”

In the end, for many, hookup culture reflects a simple desire to connect.

“Above all else, people just strive for connection. It’s been embedded in our biology,” says Quintanilla.

Moton concludes, “People can love [hookup culture] or hate it, [but] both groups show the same desire of wanting connection.”

“It’s just different ways of chasing that feeling.”