What do you call your person, your partner, the object of your affection? It turns out, that could give away how old you are, as new research finds that young daters are breaking up with pet names they consider outdated. And the alternatives they’re using instead are a little surprising.
According to new research from Coca-Cola, to go with their revived “Share a Coke” campaign, Gen Z is ditching old school terms of endearment, like “darling” and “sweetie.” But they are still calling their love interests and crushes something besides their actual names to express their feelings of fondness, and “bro” tops the list.
- The most popular modern term of affection is “bro” (53%), followed by “bestie” (35%) and even “friend” (29%).
- “Bae” is another top choice (28%), as is “queen” (17%), “king” (12%), “shawty” (11%), “sugarplum” (10%) and “day one” (13%).
- The thing is, Gen Z admits they like pet names, and say they feel happy (42%) and loved (38%) when they’re called by their nickname. And 12% confess that it makes them feel more secure.
The pet names Gen Z daters consider outdated include:
- Chick (35%)
- Sugar (31%)
- Hon (29%)
- Muffin (28%)
- Bubba (28%)
- Pet (22%)
- Babe (21%)
- Darling (21%)
- Angel (14%)
- Love (13%)
Source: NY Post