31-Year-Old Man Who Has Never Been In A Relationship Cries While Confessing How Lonely, Insecure & Overworked He Is
His confession was countered by people sharing their own stories, showing he's not alone.
TikTok Steve, also known as @persuasian24 on TikTok, is just your average almost-31-year-old in today's world. He's balancing a career, burnout, and the many pressures that come with being an aging millennial trying to navigate high costs of living, social change, and societal pressures.
In his TikTok bio, Steve describes himself as “just an average guy looking to heal his soul on this journey called life.” Well, that journey can be an emotionally taxing one at times and has even pushed Steve to document some of the more heart-wrenching aspects of life.
He posted about his vulnerable state in a video that resonated with viewers on the video-sharing app.
At 31, Steve is single and has never been in a relationship.
“I turn 31 at the end of this month. I’m single and I’ve never been in a relationship. I go on solo trips. I’m lonely, insecure, depressed, anxious, and overworked,” he captioned his post.
Steve’s eyes filled with tears that he wiped away against a background of bright blue sky.
“I think about my family and parents getting older. I worry about the future. All I want to do is sleep.”
RELATED: No Relationship, No Problem: Why I'm In Love With Being Alone
He claimed he was in the midst of a quarter-life crisis, as his life didn’t look how he wanted it to look.
Steve acknowledged his mental health challenges, using the hashtags #mentalhealthmatters and #mentalhealthawareness. He ended his post with the statement, “Life is weird and complicated.” The post got 5.8 million views, and over 14,000 comments, the majority of which were positive and uplifting.
One person noted in the comments that “a relationship doesn’t define you. Finding happiness, peace, and solitude on your own matters even more. You’re doing great.”
Other people shared their own journeys, with one person saying, “I’m 37, starting over, living with parents, single, stressed and broke. I’m gonna keep trying and you’re gonna keep [trying too!”
These users, and Steve, are not alone. In fact, they are likely part of a generation of millennials and Gen Z who are struggling to prioritize relationships — either by choice or not.
According to The Independent, a study by the dating app Happn founds that only a third of millennials and Generation Z were looking for love in 2022, with 37% of them wanting a relationship and 32% looking for marriage.
Jess O’Reilly, a Toronto-based relationship expert and host of the podcast Sex With Dr. Jess, told Global News Canada that the trend of staying single is often a choice born out of a change in modern dating habits.
“I see more millennials embracing a wider range of relationship options without apology; some opt to stay single and others opt for consensual non-monogamy — and of course, everything in between,” she said.
“Some folks stay single because they find dating exhausting and others are single because they’re busy with work and social obligations, but in most cases, this is a choice.”
But it's possible that this shift in dating trends is negatively impacting those who do still want to find a long-term partner.
Stories like Steve’s show that depression and the sense of disconnect are all too common in the world. By speaking out and revealing his truth, Steve received support from across the internet, in ways he’d never imagined.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.