Offline Love: Gen Z's Netflix Guide to Dating Without Phones

Tip: Offline Love is currently streaming on Netflix. All ten episodes are out, and I highly recommend it!

Last week, I stumbled on a Peliplat post by marvelousmars titled “Before Sunrise, or, uh, Before I Sleep I Guess?”. The writer complains about the fakeness of dating apps and reminisces about the romance of chance encounters on trains—her words dripping with a longing for that pre-internet kind of love. No sooner had I finished her post than Netflix’s algorithm recommended a Japanese dating show called Offline Love. This show hit me like a straight punch—not only did it make my heart race again after years of Hollywood rom-com numbness, but it also reminded me that maybe we never lost our ability to feel romance—we just got hijacked by dopamine for way too long.

Let’s be real: 2024 was a disaster year for Hollywood love stories. Nothing on the big screen struck a chord. Whether it was the melodramatic domestic abuse in It Ends with Us or Babygirl cranking up sexual attraction to ridiculous levels, nothing worked. And the love story in the Oscar-winning Anora? It felt as flashy yet empty as the club scene where the characters met. What do all these films have in common? They’re all busy manufacturing “happy moments”—pinned against the wall whispers, rainy kisses, and zoomed-in bed scenes, like a 15-second TikTok clip designed to trigger a dopamine hit in our numbed brains.

In contrast, Offline Love takes a completely different approach. The producers confiscate the guests’ phones before popping the former into the beautiful city of Nice, France, where they wander, explore, and get to know one another. The show's biggest appeal is its demand that participants ditch their phones and laptops, going back to a time when information was scarce and people connected face-to-face. Imagine it: no instant messages, no constantly refreshed likes or comments—just two people sitting down, sharing their lives, dreams, and fears. That slow, genuine interaction made me realize that the essence of love isn’t about flashy tech gimmicks—it comes from real, uninterrupted conversation.

Lovers on Offline Love meet by an ancient seaside town. They exchange gifts at quirky little shops paid in cash, use paper maps to navigate maze-like old streets in search of great food, and even write letters to set up their next date. These scenes instantly reminded me of Céline and Jesse in Before Sunrise. That raw, unguarded moment when you realize someone might be your true love is nearly extinct in today’s media. No filters, no dramatic background music—just pure, palpable happiness.

I’ve been reading a book on neuroscience recently, and it has an interesting point: pleasure and happiness are not the same thing. Pleasure is linked to dopamine—it drives us to constantly chase after new things, always craving that short-term rush. Every time we scroll through social media or check our phones, our brains get hit with a fleeting pleasure that quickly fades, leaving us wanting more. Happiness, on the other hand, comes from serotonin. It’s about being content with what you already have—a deep, enduring sense of satisfaction. It taught me that while chasing quick pleasures isn’t inherently bad, we need to be careful not to let it block our path to true happiness.

Now, back to the show. Sure, Offline Love isn’t perfect—I’ve seen some folks complaining that its pace is a bit too slow which makes it feel boring. But it’s exactly that break from the norm that highlights what we’re missing in our tech-drenched lives: a raw, unfiltered sense of reality. We’re so caught up in chasing likes and instant thrills that we forget to pause and savor the small, authentic moments in life. And really, what’s wrong with a little boredom? Sometimes, enjoying the slow moments takes real courage.

So, I wholeheartedly recommend Offline Love to anyone still figuring out the dating game—whether you’re looking for love or just exploring who you are. Try putting down your phone and giving this show a shot. Step away from the endless barrage of notifications and experience a different kind of warm, genuine connection. Maybe, in that pure, digital-free conversation, you’ll rediscover a long-lost sense of fulfillment and even redefine what love means to you. To me, this isn’t just a dating show—it’s a quiet conversation about love and life, a gentle, soul-refreshing experience.

Some of the most beautiful things in life can only be seen when you put your phone down.

Catch you later for more movie musings!