I (Jenn) grew up in the “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” era. We were kissing dating goodbye before we’d ever kissed it hello! The author, Joshua Harris, was pushing back against a culture overly focused on singling out and obsessing on members of the opposite sex, practicing repeated heartbreak and other mistakes for hormonal teenagers. (Harris has also kissed his marriage and his Christian faith goodbye, along with disavowing the book, for what that’s worth.)

Gen X and millennials were only one generation removed from the sexual revolution and the rise of no-fault divorce. Dating gradually detached from marriage. Culture celebrated Sex and the City, where “getting a copy of the apartment key” passed for relational commitment. Marriage no longer felt permanent, especially to the children who watched their families fracture through divorce and quietly vowed never to repeat their parents’ mistakes.

Now we face a different reality: many people aren’t dating or marrying at all.

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