There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that the dating world these days is abysmal. This brings me to my central thesis: Any discussion or talk on datingโespecially by Catholic ministriesโthat does not include the cross is doing a disservice to young women.
Catholic high school and college students mostly hear talks on dating at youth and young adult conferences. These young people are often living in a bubble in which there are many people of roughly the same age, education, socioeconomic class, and, in the case of Catholic universities, the same religion and shared values.
This means that college is still an ideal place to meet a life partner. These are the people that can benefit from the standard Catholic dating talks. But where does that leave the rest of the population? The influencers who have set themselves up as authorities on Catholic dating are often so young themselves that they lack any sense of what the dating world is like once you step out of a Catholic educational context.
With the notable exception of Lillian Fallon thank you, Lillian! Catholic dating influencers and the companies sponsoring them ought to recognize that older singles are going to see this content too. The right man may not, in fact, be around the corner. And thank God, our salvation does not ride on that! Here is one concrete, quantitative example to illustrate this point.
Emily Wilson is the most popular influencer in the Catholic dating context. She has , subscribers to her YouTube channel and , followers on Instagram IG , and she mostly posts about things that Catholic women are most interested in: relationships, marriage, and family. She encouraged people to respond or message anyone who looked interesting.
