@thetimes: It’s one thing for these prim Gen Zers not to drink, smoke, take drugs or dance. But to give up on snogging? That’s a whole new level of weirdness. When I were a lad, you might be into sport or not into sport, Genesis or the Clash, soul or metal, Man Utd, Leeds, Liverpool or the mighty Hull City, but as regards getting a snog, we were, all of us, utterly united in being massive fans. Or at least, trying to get a snog. Friday-night youth club, the Scout-hut disco, school trips, parties, loitering behind the bike sheds … getting a snog (or being ordered to deliver a snog by a girl in the year above) was what it was all about. Now, a clip of a couple kissing in Central Park is virally derided as uncool, get-a-room, “kissyface” bad behaviour. The kids are rejecting, even mocking, this most basic human connection. How times change. Up until this century, in clubs, in student bars, in the cinema, at the back of the bus, a no-strings snog was a swift, usually enjoyable audition for potential further relations. Or not, as the case may be. If you were decent looking you could conceivably have kissed every other decent-looking person in your year by the time you took your O-levels. Now, the efficient courtship ritual of a kiss has been replaced by hours droning on about your gap year in Vietnam. Or swapping kefir recipes to see if you’re compatible. It’s not healthy. Neither is promiscuous saliva spreading, mind you. But it’s definitely more fun. #genz #kiss #generations #courtship #dating

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Saturday 22 August 2026 12:00:00 GMT