First off, I'm not making any judgments here -- every generation has its problems. If I had to guess, I would say that a significant part of this phenomenon is

First off, I'm not making any judgments here -- every generation has its problems. If I had to guess, I would say that a significant part of this phenomenon is tied to status concerns. Compared to Gen X, more people from the millennial generation appear to be openly obsessed with status. (Gen X cared about status, too, but from what I have seen it was considered "uncool" to care about status as an Xer, so you had to have some subtlety about how you obtained it.) Obsession with status is tolerated and even encouraged by peers, and is further reinforced by social networks and group dynamics. * Flirt with someone who rejects you? You lose status. * Seen by peers with someone of potentially lower status? You lose status. * Hook up with someone when there are negative rumors about them? You lose status. * Make out with someone who rejected a friend? You damage that relationship and either gain or lose status based on mysterious dynamics. Status is felt as an invisible currency that affects your prospects for friendships, relationships, and your career. As such, losing it is seen as worse than an equivalent monetary loss. It's almost equivalent to "losing face" in East Asian countries, although the consequences are not quite as severe. I would argue that there is actually an ongoing "status bubble" and that people are overestimating the value of status -- surely it can't be worth all that. For single people, though, it can be hard to drop out of the status game. Who wants to be seen as a "loser"? Edit: I didn't really account for the gender disparity here, I've got some vague ideas but this was already treading too deep into speculation. Anyway, I don't think this can be fully explained by #MeToo concerns.