Boomers Are Rolling Their Eyes at Gen Z's “Spreadsheet Dating”—But Here's Why We Love the Trend

When I told my dad about my roommate’s spreadsheet “Bachelorette” season, he responded with an eye roll and incredulous huff of laughter. Clearly, he thought we were being ridiculous with our spreadsheet dating. But if there’s one thing my dad (an engineer by training) and I can agree on, it’s that numbers don’t lie. In this viral video, a creator named Emily (@crumbletumble00) garnered over 146,000 views and a thousand comments, many wanting the spreadsheet template for themselves. So, whatever he and his peers may think about the dating spreadsheet, he’ll have to concede: It’s a hot thing with Millennials and Gen Z.

Exactly what it sounds like. People are taking to good old Microsoft Excel (or Google Sheets) to keep track of their dating lives. In one viral TikTok, creator Jenny (@findingjenny) stitched together a video where she broke down exactly what she tracked in her column headers. Everything from level of attraction, first date ratings, occupation, height, what they did together and apps used made it on there. I have friends whose spreadsheets have included a rose/no rose column (à la The Bachelorette), dating profile screenshots, nicknames and chat notes. One is even collecting data for weekly slideshow presentations she disperses to friends, which detail date recaps and insights on what she’s learned about herself in the process.

It all comes down to organization. If you’re matching with 30 people a week across multiple apps, how are you supposed to remember who they are? As one friend puts it, “I like using a spreadsheet because it helps me easily keep track of who I’m talking to, who I’m planning dates with, and which dates I’ve gone on by person.”

But (and no shame here), there’s also the undeniable entertainment factor, though let’s be clear, it’s not meant to be humiliating. It’s simply to let friends know how the search is going—spilling the beans efficiently, you might say. One of my roommate’s primary purposes of creating her spreadsheet was so that her friends could track the rankings as the “season” wore on and either a) comfort her after a disaster or b) let her know who they were rooting for.

If you now have the desire to organize your dating life (and potentially provide your friends with a good time), here’s a template I made (and have been distributing). Add your own variables that are important to you, like profession, age and height, which are some popular characteristics across the board. And boom, you’re welcome.