On Yuzu, Gen Z Puts Friends Ahead of Romance
Yuzu's Summer Friendships survey found 83% of respondents valued friendships over romance, while about half often felt lonely. A separate UCLA study of single 18-to-24-year-olds found satisfying friendships helped sort who was happy.
The group chat fills first. The dating app waits.
In August 2024, Yuzu, a social and dating app for Asian Americans, released a "Summer Friendships" survey. Hypebae carried it, and so did LSN Global, a trend desk at The Future Laboratory. Eighty-three percent of respondents said they valued friendships over romantic relationships.
These are people already on an app that does dating. They still put friends at the center of the week.
The write-ups do not give a sample size, so treat the 83 percent as a signal from Yuzu's users.
Loneliness was in the same release.
LSN reported that 51.5% frequently felt lonely. Hypebae's write-up put it as more than half who often or always feel lonely.
You can want a real crew and still feel thin on Tuesday night.
Family pressure often scores adult life by partner status. This Yuzu survey, and a separate UCLA study of young singles, say friendship quality is doing real work. Ask who is on the calendar in the same conversation as the crush.
Friends can rank first and dating can stay
Yuzu's respondents still left room for dating. What they ranked first was the part of the week that already has people in it.
A solid friend group carries a quiet stretch on the apps. A first date has a life to walk into.
LSN also found that 47 percent preferred meeting friends of the opposite sex, and 85 percent said online friendships can be meaningful.
61.5 percent preferred a conversation when friends hit a conflict.
Plenty of people in that picture still want a partner someday. Friendship is what they said comes first.
If your relatives only ask "anyone yet," name the people you already have. "I am building a life that already has people in it. Dating can join that."
Lonely and friends-first can be true at once
The 83 percent is the line relatives will quote. The loneliness number should travel with it.
About half of the Yuzu respondents said loneliness was frequent. A lot of twenty-somethings already know that week: soft plans on the calendar, and a hollow stretch after work.
Lisa Walsh, a UCLA researcher who studies singles and well-being, co-led an October 2024 paper in PLOS ONE on single adults ages 18 to 24. The team looked at 1,073 people who were not in a committed romantic relationship.
They grouped people by how satisfied they were with friends and family, plus self-esteem and a couple of personality traits. Satisfaction with friends kept separating the happier singles from the less happy ones. When friendships looked solid, happiness often held even if another part of the picture looked harder.
If dating is slow this season, ask about the friend map at dinner. In this study, that map moved with happiness.
What to do with a friends-first week
Put one friend hang on the calendar the way you would put a date.
Hot pot, a walk, trivia, or a City Life outing all work if they have a start time.
If someone asks why Friday is for friends, a 2026 Harris poll of U.S. adults is useful backup. Most singles in that survey said being single pushed them to build support outside romance. Most adults said they want friendships treated as serious adult relationships.
Ask a smaller question back. Who is on the calendar this month.