Scholars from the Institute for American Values conducted a survey, "Hooking Up, Hanging Out, and Looking for Mr. Right," that asked 1,000 college women about courtship in the new millennium. The survey found that courtship—dating a male with the hopes of finding a lifelong mate—has been replaced by "hooking up." Hooking up with a male partner usually is fueled by alcohol and entails engaging in sexual activity. Forty percent of the women surveyed admitted to hooking up with men, and one in ten disclosed they'd done so at least six times.

Elizabeth Marquardt, co-author of the report, says, "[The women] wish they could really get to know a guy without necessarily having a sexual relationship." This survey was conducted after the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University released a report in 1999 that concluded that Americans are marrying far less, and those who do marry are less happy.