The report reveals that physical touch ranks as a love language for 12 per cent of Gen Z, compared with just 2 per cent of Millennials
Valentine’s Day is fast losing its emotional charge for urban India’s singles. Nearly 53 per cent say they treat the day like any other, choosing to step away from romantic hype, while many turn instead to reflection, self-care or time with friends. At the same time, 54 per cent of women signal a decisive shift away from grand gestures, a report revealed.
Bringing together insights from 5,868 urban Indian singles, a report by Aisle has pointed out that the retreat is also visible in how singles communicate and evaluate partners. Half of the women surveyed say they prefer using words rather than emojis while flirting, seeking clarity and reassurance over playful ambiguity. Singles in North India are more inclined to draw from Bollywood ideas of romance and celebrate the day with friends, whereas those in the South tilt toward logic, emotional balance.
“What looks like indifference is actually emotional maturity. Singles today are not waiting for a date, a gift or a relationship status to feel complete. As they invest in fuller lives, the internal dialogue has shifted: they are no longer asking, Will love happen tome? but rather, What kind of person will I become if it does?,” Arouba Kabir, Consulting Psychologist and Relationship Expert, said in the report.
Grand-gesture Rejection
More than half of women say grand romantic displays no longer define care, instead favouring acts of service that signal participation in everyday life. However, both men and women want more acts of service than they typically express. While men tend to express affection through touch and time, women are more likely to value acts of service.
Gen Z wants verbal affirmation 43 per cent more than Millennials, as per the report. Highlighting that the emoji economy worked when dating was casual, the report added that these do not offer reassurance, accountability or clarity.
“The progression from emoji-mediated courtship (73.2 per cent Gen Z) to language-based clarity (32.1 per cent Millennials) represents maturation in romantic communication,” the report added. Women are nearly two times more likely to evaluate practical compatibility before committing. On the other hand, men trust their gut feeling, intuition in deciding if they have found ‘the one’.
Age Group And Geography Divide
Physical touch ranks as a love language for 12 per cent of Gen Z, compared with just 2 per cent of Millennials. The report revealed that gut feeling determines “the one” for 27 per cent of the younger cohort versus 12 per cent of older daters. Millennials, meanwhile, report sharper fatigue as 64 per cent say ghosting is frustrating and 55 per cent feel overwhelmed by too many options, far higher than Gen Z at 35 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively.
“By prioritising physical touch at a rate 500 per cent higher than Millennials and favoring ‘gut-feeling’ over anything else, the youngest dating cohort is letting their instincts decide who they love while Millennials are more analytical in their love lives,” the report added.
The report noted that in north India, 25.9 per cent say Bollywood shapes their view of love compared with 18.4 per cent in the South and they are also more likely to spend Valentine’s Day with friends (20.4 per cent versus 16.1 per cent). Southern daters, meanwhile, lean more toward logic and emotion while deciding relationships (34.1 per cent) and are likelier to express love through acts of service rather than words.
“The north remains the capital of verbal affirmation (14.8 per cent), proving that while the south acts, the north speaks. North India is 26 per cent more likely to turn Valentine’s Day into a celebration with friends,” the report revealed. Most Indians can only express deep emotions in their mother tongue.
While 78 per cent feel more emotionally expressive in mother tongue, 89.3 per cent actually use english to express emotions. 17.7 per cent of men identifying as Bunny believe in love, while 31.5 per cent of women identifying as Geet have learned love the hard way, as per the report.
