They made things exciting. You thought you were in love. And now a week has gone by with no reply. Odds are they’re not getting back to you. But don’t take it personally: We’re all ensnared in a ghosting epidemic.
According to the Thriving Center for Psychology, one in four Gen Zers and millennials have been ghosted after just a few dates. And to twist the knife even deeper, one in ten report being ghosted after a couple of months of dating.
Tragically familiar, isn’t it?
Brands like Sweethearts have been quick to capitalize on the reality of today’s dating landscape.
In 2024, the heart-shaped candy brand launched “Situationship Boxes,” featuring candies stamped with intentionally misprinted messages that capture the ambiguity of modern relationships.
This year, the brand is unveiling “Ghosted Sweethearts.” The all-white conversation hearts are “as blank as that text thread you’re still waiting on,” the brand says.
“Sweethearts aren’t just for Valentine’s Day anymore,” said Evan Brock, vice president of marketing at Spangler Candy Co., the 119-year-old confectioner behind Sweethearts. “With Ghosted Sweethearts, we’re poking fun at one of dating’s spookiest phenomenons and staking our claim on Halloween.”
Why are brands diving into Gen Z’s miserable dating world?
The answer lies in the bigger picture: Unrelenting rejection is feeding a generation-wide panic.
As reported by Business Insider earlier this year, Gen Z has already been labeled the most anxious, stressed, burned-out, and lonely generation—and now its members are facing historic levels of romantic rejection.
Infinite possibilities are just a click, swipe, or DM away, but so is infinite rejection. Young adults have more doors to knock on than ever before—from jobs to friendships to love—and more doors slammed shut in their faces.
Last year, a Hinge survey of 15,000 daters found that 90% of Gen Z respondents want to find love but fear of rejection is holding them back. Nearly half admit they have little to no dating experience. More than half say worrying about rejection has stopped them from pursuing someone, and they’re 10% more likely than millennials to report having “missed their shot” entirely.
“Rejection is intimidating for everyone, but Gen Z daters seem to feel it more acutely,” said Logan Ury, director of relationship science at Hinge.
Sweethearts isn’t the first brand to get a laugh out of Gen Z’s somber dating scene. In fact, brands have been capitalizing on the struggles of swipe-based dating for years.
In 2016, Doritos ran a Super Bowl campaign called “Swipe for Doritos” that poked fun at online dating and rejection. It seems brands have caught on to the despair woven into the tragic love stories of digital-first daters—and they’ve wasted no time entering the chat.