What Will Dating Look Like in 2026?

The Story Though it may not be possible to know the future with certainty, smart people can sometimes get a sense of where things are moving when they cast their eyes on specific areas. That’s the idea behind trend forecasting, which we here at AskMen are sometimes curious about when it comes to the core topic areas that we cover in our articles, like sex and dating. Well, good news, everyone! Dating.com has just released a new report on their predictions for dating trends in 2026, particularly when it comes to millennials, a core part of the dating cohort at the moment. RELATED: Internet Dating Slang Terms You Need to Know The Snapshot While the report explores a variety of different predictions, as seen in the below screenshot, there’s one big one they call a “macro-trend”: emotional outsourcing. RELATED: Understanding Emotional Vocabulary In plain language, “emotional outsourcing” means the perception that your primary (or sole) romantic partner should be someone who meets all your emotional needs and is someone to whom you confide all your deepest feelings is something we may be shifting away from, as people prioritize sharing things with friends, or dividing their romantic and sexual needs among multiple partners. The report also explores trends like “ick regret,” where people who’ve dropped a potential partner over getting the ick are now wondering whether that was a premature judgment call. The Lesson While a complex study like this one offers many different data points that you could run with to justify your decisions, there’s another lesson lurking under the surface: While things like love and romance sometimes feel massive and monumental, they’re also subject to the winds of change as social beliefs and focuses shift over time. Your love or dating style may feel out of step with your peers’, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it. In a few years you might be right back on trend. RELATED: The Best and Worst TikTok Dating Trends & Advice Until then, we think that recognizing that one person can’t be every single thing to you isn’t a bad move. Having friends and family (and maybe a therapist) you can talk to about things means your partner won’t feel overloaded when you do need them. You Might Also Dig: Exploring the "Living Together Apart" Trend in Modern Relationships 20 Different Ways to Successfully Find Love in the Coming Year 25 Ways Sex & Dating Have Changed Since AskMen Was Founded