How Dating Trends Turned Commitment Cool Again

For a generation that once prided itself on knowing the difference between a situationship, a nanoship, an almost-relationship, a friends-with-benefits, a "we're seeing where it goes" and the ever-haunting hookup culture, the mood has changed.

Somewhere between swiping left-right in the toilet queue and decoding texts like "I'm not ready for anything serious, but I like spending time with you", urban singles have reached their saturation point. The jargon has become exhausting, the emotional acrobatics even more so. In 2025, the biggest flex isn't elusive mystery in relationships : it's clarity.

Welcome to the era where commitment is not just back, it's cool, (again).

Everyone Is Tired Of The Dictionary Of Modern Romance

If there's one takeaway from the massive study by Aisle, a dating app for meaningful relationships, it's this: the majority of people don't want romantic chaos anymore.

• Millennials lead the charge, with 9 in 10 urban Indians preferring meaningful relationships over flings and 1 in 3 planning to marry within a year of dating.
• The survey also shows that 97 percent of urban single women across generations said they now prioritise commitment while consciously rejecting the casual dating template that defined the last decade.
• Hookup culture, once romanticised as "liberating", seems to have stripped dating of meaning. Nearly half of millennials now say exactly that, while 70 percent are seeking something serious.

Chandni Gaglani, Head of Aisle Network, says, "People are prioritising real connections and meaningful dialogue instead of endless superficial matches and swipes. Whether you're in Delhi or Bangalore, finding love now means finding someone who understands that career ambitions must coexist with essentials like work-life balance and cultural values."

Commitment is no longer unsexy. Ambiguity is.

Why People Are Craving Stability Again

Matchmaker and relationship coach Radhika Mohta has been watching this shift up close. For her, the reason isn't surprising.

"The fundamental need for every human is to feel seen, heard, valued, and understood. People are behaving a certain way because that's what they're looking for," she explains to NDTV.

But she also believes life stage plays a major part. A 25-year-old who has experienced enough trial runs of heartbreak and inconvenience sees dating differently from someone who has just entered the romantic world fresh out of college or a single-sex schooling background.

Her TLDR: "People have always been looking for commitment. They still are."

What has changed is fatigue-emotional, logistical and digital.

Online platforms are still a major pathway to commitment. Photo: Unsplash

"So many people you need to talk to, match with, message, invest energy in. It ends up exhausting a lot of people, and that's why they are now looking for something serious or a commitment thing," she adds.

What Dating Apps Didn't Ruin

It's fashionable to say dating apps "killed romance", but Mohta thinks that narrative is oversimplified.

She points out, "Before dating apps, people met at weddings, neighbours' houses, family gatherings. Dating was always happening. Apps only increased optionality and convenience."

The real problem, according to her, is how people used apps.

"When profiles became disposable-match, unmatch, swipe-it became a problem. Dating fatigue isn't because apps exist. It's because of how people are using them," she says.

And yet, online platforms are still a major pathway to commitment (Zorhan Mamdami met his wife on Hinge, a dating app). Aisle's study notes that 55.5 percent of respondents have witnessed couples marry after meeting online. Mohta sees this everywhere: "From Twitter DMs and Instagram comments to subreddit dating Sundays, people are finding love wherever they can. The desire for connection hasn't changed."

Cuffing Season, Cultural Pressure And A Longing

Beyond emotional needs, there's something fundamentally desi about wanting to share festivals, trips and family gatherings with a special person.

Mohta laughs, "Year-end hits and suddenly everyone's calendar is full-house parties, work events, Christmas plans. Every time you show up alone, someone asks, 'Why are you still single?'"

Even for Gen Z, whose idea of commitment isn't always marriage but honesty and clarity, the desire to hold on to something longer is growing, and the reason can be as simple as to not wanting to show up alone for events.

Moreover, as urbanisation increased, more people began leaving their hometowns for metro cities alone, and finding someone to spend their days off, weekends, and long trips with became increasingly important.

Social validation matters. Emotional safety matters. Being able to depend on someone matters. Funnily enough, romance is not dying-it's maturing.

Is Having A Really Boyfriend Embarrassing

Now, we know, saying commitment is cool again in an era where women wholeheartedly agree with the viral Vogue article "Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?" sounds contradictory. But hear us out.

The Internet aggressively debated the idea that "having a boyfriend is embarrassing now", a month ago. But what actually irked people wasn't love itself or being in a relationship. It was turning the relationship into a personality, an identity badge, or a branding exercise.

Being committed is not cringe. Making a partner your whole personality is.

In 2025, the aesthetic is soft-launching, not over-identifying. A relationship is a part of your life, not the only thing that defines you.

What's Driving The 2025 Romance Renaissance

The shift seems to be fuelled by:

• Exhaustion with ambiguity and labels
• The emotional drain of infinite optionality
• A desire for safety, clarity and emotional consistency
• Life stage transitions triggering the need for stability
• A new understanding that ambition and partnership can coexist

Love has gone full-circle. Or perhaps it never left.