Online Dating and Social Withdrawal. How Do Czechs Perceive Gen Z and Their Relationships?
Generation Z is sometimes referred to as “snowflakes” because they are seen as people who easily melt under pressure from the outside world. At the same time, however, they are appreciated for helping bring more attention to mental health. The Czech population sees the young generation as highly sensitive, but mostly perceives this trait positively. The public mainly attributes this heightened sensitivity to the influence of social media. These findings come from a January survey conducted by the NMS agency.
Will Gen Z relationships melt under the pressure of reality once the screens are put away?
More than 7 out of 10 Czechs from older generations (71%) believe that young people from Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012, do not have control over the time they spend in the digital world. According to them, digitalization is also affecting relationships. 83% believe that Generation Z prefers forming relationships online rather than in the real world. Another 65% believe that, compared with previous generations, they find it more difficult to form intimate relationships.
Generation Z assesses itself in a very similar way: 76% of Gen Z agree with the statement that they prefer forming and maintaining relationships online rather than offline. At the same time, most people aged 18 to 28 (67%) feel that Generation Z does not have control over the time it spends online.
Czechs perceive Generation Z as a group under pressure, even in the most intimate areas of life. 62% of people from older generations and 72% of Gen Z members themselves say that young people from this generation are oversaturated with digital sexual content.
“The perception of Generation Z as more withdrawn and more oriented towards the online world is also confirmed by data from NMS research for Aerofilms. Compared with Millennials and Generation X, their sexual activity is lower and they are less often currently in a relationship. This is partly due to their life stage, as young people have not yet had as many opportunities for romantic relationships, which was further intensified by the period during and after the Covid pandemic. At the same time, Generation Z grew up in the online world and is therefore more accustomed to forming relationships online; for them, it feels natural,” comments Lucie Režná from NMS, adding: “What is certainly alarming, however, is that Generation Z is also among the heaviest consumers of pornography. Digitalization is therefore clearly changing the overall perception of intimacy and closeness. Experts agree that consuming pornography does not necessarily have to be problematic until it starts replacing real intimate relationships.”
We agree that Gen Z is sensitive. But generations differ on the causes
Almost 6 out of 10 Czechs who belong to the Millennial generation or older describe Generation Z as sensitive. A slight majority perceive this trait positively, especially Baby Boomers (born 1946–1964). In-depth interviews show that older generations, who previously could not talk about emotions as openly, appreciate young people for the fact that Gen Z speaks openly about mental health problems and personal feelings. Moreover, 72% of Czechs from older generations welcome the fact that, thanks to Generation Z, mental health is becoming an important topic. At the same time, 80% of them believe that young people do not handle criticism well. In the eyes of many people, sensitivity is therefore also associated with the idea of lower psychological resilience.
Generation Z is perceived as most sensitive by its own members (73%). Young people from this generation see their sensitivity as a consequence of unstable social conditions (40%), high social expectations (32%), and financial insecurity (27%). Older generations, by contrast, are more likely to attribute it to economic prosperity (15%) or liberal parenting (19%), which they believe makes young people from Generation Z oversensitive. Both groups agree on the influence of social media on young people’s sensitivity (Generation Z: 51%; older generations: 45%).
In-depth interviews show that older people do not always place Generation Z’s behavior in a broader context. They see their own past as strongly shaped by the socialist regime, while attributing more individual responsibility for one’s own life to young people from Generation Z. This can be illustrated by a comment from one of the interview participants (aged 45) on digitalization and social media:
“Either you become a slave to those networks and then you don’t seek out any interactions, or they are just some kind of supplement.” He adds: “Again, I don’t condemn it if someone wants to stare at their phone 24/7. That’s probably their battle.”
Methodology
The research was conducted using a combined method of in-depth interviews and an online questionnaire (CAWI). The quantitative part included 1,014 respondents from a representative sample of the adult Czech population aged 18+. The in-depth interviews were conducted with six people: three represented the older generation (aged 45–55) and three represented Generation Z, with men and women evenly represented in the sample and appearing under pseudonyms.
The research was created in cooperation with the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University as part of the Diverse Layers course. Students Jakub Hauser, Filip Komorous, Nora Meinczingerová, Jan Sladovník, and Daniel Sachr collaborated on the research.
Contact for media
Lucie Režná, NMS agency — [email protected], +420 724 950 557
About NMS
NMS is a research agency with over 20 years of history. In addition to market research, which it provides to hundreds of clients worldwide, it also studies political and social issues. In addition to the Czech Republic, it operates in other countries in Europe and Asia. NMS is a member of the international organization ESOMAR and the national organization SIMAR.