E dey get harder to find a partner?

All ova di world, pipo dey struggle to couple up. For places like Iran, Mexico, Peru, South Africa and South Korea, di number of pipo in couples dey fall.

For China, marriages fall from 13 million for 2014 to just ova 6 million for 2024.

And survey data from Finland suggests say cohabiting couples dey more likely to break up dan dem fit start a family.

So why pipo for so many places dey struggle to form a lasting relationship?

Felipe, wey be 36 years old and dey live for Santa Catarina for Brazil say e neva get relationship despite say e dey try evritin wey e fit do to find partner.

For school, e dey write love letters to girls wey e get a crush on but di response no dey encouraging.

While e dey university e offer to help girls wit dia course work hoping say dem go spend more time wit am.

Den for im 30s e go for therapy to figure out how to connect wit women.

But tins neva work out so far.

"I be man wey no sabi wetin to do wit love life," e tok.

Felipe dey work as a copywriter and spend most of im 20s witout stable job. E believe say dis dey hurt im chances to impress women.

"But no be somtin wey just dey happun to me," e tok and add say many oda men dey feel lost and opting out of dating.

US data suggest say 18 to 24 years old, especially men, spend more time alone dan any oda group.

Dis na sharp opposite 20 years ago, wen dis age group socialise at least as much as pipo for dia 30s or 40s and much more dan dose wey be 50 and older.

Now, instead of spending time wit odas, young pipo dey spend am on social media, gaming and watching TV.

Brazil wia Felipe come from get di highest rates of social media use for di world.

Wit young pipo spending more time online, e go follow say dem dey date for dia too. But di use of dating apps dey reduce.

According to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, di world six biggest dating apps get downloads fall by 18% for 2024 - di first drop for dia history.

Liesel Sharabi, director of di Relationships and Technology Lab at Arizona State University, say users dey frustrated, exhausted and overwhelmed by dating apps - by di quantity of matches but not di quality of connections.

One of di issues she find na di veri little innovation for how dem dey match pipo. Most apps get more male subscribers dan women.

"Men find say dem dey get ignored and dat fit dey uniquely frustrating."

Dr Sharabi say women dey feel overwhelmed by di number of responses dem dey get.

She also believe say apps don introduce a lack of accountability for dating wey fit lead to rude or inconsiderate behaviour. "Swipe afta swipe fit feel like say na products, no be pipo dem dey deal wit."

Hassana from Abuja, in Nigeria, neva get into dating apps. "E just feel like I dey auction mysef," she tok.

But she find offline dating difficult too becos di pool of men wey share her values dey small.

"I be feminist and na di cost of knowledge, e get certain tins I no fit just close my eyes to anymore," she tok.

She be 26 and lawyer by training but she dey run one successful laundry business as well as non-governmental organisation (NGO) wey dey support victims of domestic violence.

She believe say widespread access to di internet don give women for Nigeria di freedom to report domestic violence for ways dem neva do bifor wey mean say her generation dey more aware of di dangers of bad relationship.

Survey data from di US, China, South Korea and certain parts of Europe suggest a widening gap between young women - wey dey increasingly more progressive, especially wen e come to women rights - and young men wey dey less.

Dr Alice Evans, wey be sociologist, call am di great gender division and e dey write book on dis subject. She believe say di way we consume culture online fit be one of di reasons why dis dey happun.

"Women fit watch show wey dey cater to dia increasingly feminist interests wia men fit no dey progress at di exact same rate," she tok.

For Hassana, dat na true, too often she don see man wey she dey interested in following a social media account wit misogynistic views or agreeing wit misogynistic comments.

"E dey scary," she tok.

For Iran, 40-year-old Nazy get di same problem. She don dey single and dey look for love for di past 10 years.

"I dey a little bit feminist," she tok. "I wan work and I wan earn as much money as my partner. But dem dey tink, 'OK, she wan get a competition wit me ova here'."

But many women still get expectations of a partner wey dey rooted in traditional conservative roles.

Nazy and Hassana dey reluctant to partner wit someone wey no dey as financially secure as dem be.

Both women get post-graduate degrees and good careers. Di pool of available men dem fit consider as equals dey shrink. In most kontris, female graduates now outnumber men and girls outperform boys for school.

And wit less stigma around being alone, e dey get easier to opt out of dating, Dr Evans tok.

"Di rise of high quality personal entertainment mean say if dates dey boring, hey, you fit just stay in and watch Bridgerton or play video games," she tok.

She believe say na thoroughly good tin if pipo dey under less pressure to make a bad match.

But she dey worried about lack of connection among young pipo.

"If men and women no dey spend time togeda sharing intimate thoughts, sharing dia different perspectives on di world togeda, den e become harder to develop empathy," she tok.

Dr Sharabi wey study dating apps, agree say technology don remove some potential for real world connection.

"I get young pipo wey tell me say dem fit see someone cute for bar but dem no go approach dem, dem go go into dating app to see if dem dey dia instead," she tok.

"I tink in general we avoid human contact in a way wey we bin no dey do."