Don’t swipe, just swoon. Love is going old-school

No hook-ups, no apps, no ghosting, no DMs. Three couples who found love offline share their IRL meet-cute stories

Sorry tech bros. You couldn’t hack love after all. A November 2023 study by news outlet Axios and American think tank Generation Lab finds that Gen Z and millennials are falling out of love with dating apps. All that swiping, location matching, bio filtering and the carousel of middling options has exhausted young singles – 79% of those polled said they hadn’t used a dating app in the past month; 61% said they hadn’t used one in three months. Those looking for love have found that the online experience shallow, inauthentic and frustrating. The online generation is looking for love, at least, offline. Here’s how some of them have given Cupid an IRL pivot.

Hannah Grace fell in love with V Edison, her best friend’s boyfriend’s best friend, bypassing dating apps.

Ashmita Mondal and Uday Raj were college friends, but bonded as adults who already trusted each other.

Shriya Nulkar sent Atharva Datar a friend request on Instagram. She was too shy for dating apps.