11 Single Millennial Men Explain What Love Means To Them In The World Of Modern Dating

1. “I’ve never been in love, but I sure as hell one day hope to be, and I think a lot of millennial men feel the same. We’re not the generation of commitment phobes, we’re the generation that is distracted by all of these obstacles that define what modern dating is.” — Eric, 28

2. “Modern dating is just a sorry excuse for people to ignore and walk all over each other’s feelings. Men have feelings too, and we don’t always ignore them with the people we’re dating. Tinder, ghosting, bread-crumbing, it’s all bullshit. I’m gonna tell you the way I feel about you, and I’m gonna listen to the way you feel about me. That’s it.” — Lenard, 26

3. “Modern dating makes ‘love’ even more complicated than it already is. It’s way easier to meet tons of women so yeah, I’ll want to keep my options open, and in that way I fall right under that millennial man stereotype, but I think the reason I keep on searching instead of settling down is because I haven’t met someone who I feel has been worth it. It’s not that I’m trying to play the field and hook up with as many women as I can, it’s just that I want to find the right one, and I haven’t yet.” — Anthony, 27

4. “I think people like to assume that millennial dudes like myself don’t value commitment and are blatantly terrified of it, but the truth is, if I meet someone I genuinely enjoy being with, commitment isn’t scary at all, and it’s definitely something I’m able to give.” — Ross, 27

5. “Love doesn’t exist anymore, and if it does we’re too scared to admit it, and anyone who tells you different is probably someone who thinks they’re in love, but actually isn’t. No one knows what real love is anymore.” — Kevin, 25

6. “I don’t like to think of it as ‘modern dating,’ because that implies that I have to follow the same made-up rules everyone else is following. I’m never going to meet the love of my life by following those rules, no one will. Fuck modern dating. Do you.” — Alex, 28

7. “My entire definition of love would be way too long, but to sum it up briefly, love to me is just being with the person who makes you excited to wake up every morning, and I don’t think modern dating has changed my idea of that at all.” — Paul, 26

8. “The internet makes dating hell. I was born in the wrong decade. I wish I was dating when the internet didn’t exist. I crave the experience of actually meeting someone before they’ve stalked me completely on social media.” — Ricki, 24

9. “I think modern dating has just made me more pessimistic when it comes to love. I have less hope in finding it, and less hope in making it stay even if I do find it. I still want to find it, I just don’t get my hopes up.” — Lucas, 25

10. “I’m not sure if I know exactly what modern dating is, but I know that I’m still single not because I’m afraid of relationships, but because I’ve had relationships that just haven’t been with the right people or at the right time of my life. And I think that’s what love majorly depends on, the person and the timing. Being a millennial has nothing to do with the reason I’m not currently in love and single.” — Alex, 30

11. “Modern dating doesn’t affect you when you’re in love. Love defies all the stupid shit that is modern dating.” — Bryan, 27