Young singletons are looking beyond conventional dating advice for answers about their romantic lives, which experts theorize could be fueled by the uncertainty around modern relationships. New polling from DatingNews revealed 64 per cent of Gen Z respondents surveyed have tried something spiritual, psychic or “manifestation-based" for love. The online survey of 1,013 U.S. adults, conducted by Cherry Data Signals in August, found practices include consulting psychics, spells, crystals, tarot and astrology charts.
Their appeal may reflect a familiar frustration with modern dating: apps provide more potential partners and information to assess, but little certainty about how someone feels or where a relationship is heading. For some, spiritual rituals offer a way to make sense of that uncertainty, providing a framework for reflection when analyzing profiles, messages and compatibility does not deliver clear answers. Dakari Quimby, a clinical adviser of Marietta Springs, a modern evidence-based treatment center located in Georgia, told Newsweek that "symbolic systems" can make dating feel more intentional and emotionally coherent.
"The paradox of choice might explain why the apparent explosion of romantic choices with online or app dating doesn't necessarily lead to greater dating satisfaction. Meanwhile, repeated rejection or disappointing dating experiences can leave some people emotionally exhausted," he said. A previous Newsweek report examined survey findings suggesting that some Gen Z daters place considerable trust in astrology when it comes to love, raising questions about how younger people assess romantic compatibility.
The Harris Poll's Gen Z and Religion Report found that 51 percent of Gen Z respondents regularly practised meditation or ritual, while 49 percent practised manifestation and 30 percent used astrology or tarot. Meanwhile, 67 percent regularly prayed, and 49 percent attended religious services. The findings from the survey of 372 American Gen Zers, released last month, suggest the generation appears comfortable mixing traditional religion with less conventional spiritual practices.
Modern dating can involve constant evaluation, from judging profiles and interpreting response times to categorizing behavior as a red or green flag. Kirill Liakh, managing director of emotional insight app Hint, told Newsweek daters can scrutinize messages, profiles and compatibility yet still not understand why there is, or isn't, a connection. Company polling from Hint in July found that 56 percent of singles surveyed had deliberately tried to stop analyzing people through red and green flags because it was mentally exhausting.
Sixty-one percent said the language stopped them seeing someone as a whole person. Liakh explained practices such as astrology and rituals offer the opposite, by providing young people with a framework that doesn't require them to rate one another. Cheryl Groskopf, a licensed therapist specializing in anxiety, trauma and attachment, told Newsweek that the uncertainty of modern dating can leave people searching for answers when a promising connection suddenly ends.
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