Unusual Gen Z dating trend shocking older couples: 'Have to do it before a first date'

A surprising Gen Z dating trend has emerged that older Australians, particularly those already in relationships, are struggling to come to terms with. While the social media generation are known to detest phone calls, sending voice notes before a first date is becoming increasingly popular relationship expert Logan Ury reveals to Yahoo Lifestyle.

I'm not going to lie — I am a millennial and I detest picking up the phone. I never pick up unknown numbers, I have a blocked list of callers, and even when it's someone I know, I hesitate for a split second before pulling myself together and taking the call.

However, I am the number one fan of the humble voice memo.

My love story with voice memos started during COVID lockdowns, with my best friend living in Adelaide and me residing in Sydney. We had been in a long-distance friendship for most of our adult lives but rarely jumped on the phone, and somehow the introduction of voice memos on a daily basis became a saving grace in navigating life's problems from that point forward. As someone who spends all day at a computer, I loved being able to fire off a few minutes of my internal monologue on a lunch break without having to type it out. And then I loved listening to my mates' responses when I'm doing mundane life admin things like cleaning my house.

While my love affair with VMs started in lockdown, it's a habit I've kept and one that has transitioned into my dating life too.

Surprising dating trend being adapted by Gen Z's and millennials

It started as a discussion when talking about dating where I realised coupled-up people in my life were shocked to find out people have started exchanging voice notes before even meeting up. Not only that, but a voice memo can now hold the power as to whether you even want to meet up with the person IRL or not after having a chat.

And it's just not my life or circle of friends — even celebrities are on the voice memo bandwagon, with Kristin Cavallari flying the flag for pre-date voice memos in an episode of her podcast Let's Be Honest.

"You have to voice note before a first date," the star exclaimed. "Or FaceTime, I'm down with that too. But I think then you really know."

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Aussie daters jumping onboard voice memo trend

Hinge tells Yahoo Lifestyle that their research into Australian daters shows that conversations that included Voice Notes were 87% more likely to lead to a date.

Logan Ury, the Director of Relationship Science at Hinge, said that more than two-thirds of Hinge users believe hearing someone's voice helps them determine their interest. "Voice Notes can give you a deeper sense of someone’s energy, personality, and sense of humour," Logan told Yahoo Lifestyle. "They allow users to check in with themselves early on about how the other person makes them feel."

Expert's advice for wooing your dating match with a cheeky voice memo

OK, there's danger associated with voice memos, obviously. You don't want to end up on Hinge Boiz for example and have your terrible celebrity impression go viral.

Thankfully Logan has a few tips to keep the awkwardness at arm's length. "Pretend you're talking to a friend," she advised. "You’re not auditioning to be a voice actor. You’re showing us who you are!"

Logan also said voice notes were a great way to show off your sense of humour, and to try not to re-record any and stay authentic. "Don’t keep re-recording. If you overthink it, you’ll just start to sound less and less like yourself, and it’ll have a rehearsed and unnatural feel."

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And most importantly... don't be creepy.

"Leave the heavy breathing to your cardio workout class," Logan said.

Voice memos — they really work

In a poll conducted by Yahoo Lifestyle, while the results on how people felt about VMs were mixed, some voice note fans told us of great success they've had using voice memos to connect with people.

"Literally fell in love over voice memos. Now getting married," one woman told us. "My now boyfriend and I exchanged several voice notes before we met!" another person said. "I think it helped make him feel like a real person rather than some mystery man I’m chatting to on an app."

So what are you waiting for? Send that VM. Don't be scared.

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