TULSA, Okla. — The high cost of dating is keeping Gen Z at home on weekends — and often feeling lonely, according to a new Harris Poll.
Nearly three-fourths of Gen Zers stay home on weekends because they fear going out will leave them with what Harris Poll Chief Strategy Officer Libby Rodney calls a "spending hangover."
"They're worried about getting access to their bank accounts on Monday morning and seeing a low balance. So instead of going out and going to bars and nightclubs, a lot of them are really staying in, and it's really caused from financial pressure," Rodney said.
The poll found 62% of Gen Z now avoid making weekend plans altogether because of regret over what they spent, and 68% say going out isn't worth it to their wallet.
Yahir Najera and Janneth Acosta were strolling up the path at River Parks when 2 News Oklahoma asked if the rising cost of going out kept them at home?
"Yeah, definitely, as of recently, actually, I've like backtracked on a lot of my money because my pockets are going empty. Everything's costing a lot more," Najera said.
Acosta said she encourages Najera to skip the expensive outings.
"Sometimes when he wants to take me out on dates I'm like we do go out I can see that it gets like really expensive and I just feel really bad and tell him its okay you can just come over we can do something that doesn't cost a lot," Acosta said.
The poll also found Gen Z is struggling to find affordable date options.
"Really what Gen Z is looking for is what does a $35 date night look like? It just doesn't exist right now. I think Bank of America ran a report on your average date, and it's, $189, and most Gen Z can't even get anywhere close to affording that without breaking their bank," Rodney said.
There is a bright spot in the poll. Gen Zers who do go out are finding cheaper alternatives to traditional dates — like hiking, joining supper clubs where you pay a fixed fee rather than splurging on the full cost of a date, or going on no-cost dates like Najera and Acosta, where instead of spending money, they spend time.
"Spending time for sure. I feel like it doesn't really matter as long as we're together," Acosta said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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