Arthur C. Brooks— Harvard professor, New York Times best-selling author, and research expert on the science of happiness— recently cited "State of Our Unions 2026: The Dating Recession" in his national column "The Pursuit of Happiness" as he discussed modern dating myths and behaviors.
"State of Our Unions" is an annual research report co-sponsored by Wheatley Institute and the Institute for Family Studies. It monitors the current health of marriage and family life in America, with the most recent issue focusing on the factors influencing today's depressed dating economy. Contrary to popular belief, the dating scene isn't sluggish because young adults fear commitment. Rather, it's due to a lack of confidence in their own dating skills.
Brooks tackles several other misperceptions impacting the dating world today. "You’ve no doubt heard about the 'manosphere'", he says. "...a loose, online community of men, typically single ones, who are dissatisfied with their dating options (or lack thereof), promote a hypermasculine lifestyle, and criticize progressive gender dynamics. These men frequently complain about modern women...".
He continues. "Like so many ideas propagated as fact on social media and the internet, this belief gives a wildly distorted picture of the desires and needs of the vast majority of both women and men today. The best data on what young adults are actually looking for comes from data collected by think tanks such as the Institute for Family Studies and the Wheatley Institute, which together have recently published a report titled “State of Our Unions 2026: The Dating Recession.”
Brooks argues that the common narratives surrounding the opposite sex are simply wrong: women don't just want high-status men, and men don't just want casual sex. Both sexes want commitment and meaningful relationships. Instead of being structural, the broken dating environment simply stems from behavior that doesn't line up with relationship goals. Brooks looks at dating app usage as one key example.