What was once taboo, online dating is becoming increasingly popular. It is no question that the reliance on digital technology has contributed to the growth of this market. A recent ReportLinker survey sought to determine just how popular these dating sites are among Americans.
Though, in the study, 60% of respondents reported that they were married, the ReportLinker survey showed that 20% of U.S. single adults said that they were registered on a dating site. Though the popularity of these sites has seemingly increased, there is a lagging apprehension to using these services. More than half of the respondents had a negative view of the services with women being the most skeptical. The opinion that members can easily misrepresent who they are in the abyss of the online world contribute to skepticism.
For those who do not carry the same skepticism report belonging to an average of 2.4 websites per the same survey. Among the most popular sites to join were Tinder (42%), Match.com (32%), Plenty of Fish (26%) and OKCupid (25%). Among Millennials, Tinder was most popular with 70% of mentions. Another drawback is the willingness to pay for the services with almost three-quarters of American users reporting they use the free versions of the sites. Millennials and Tinder users were even less likely to pay for the membership.
However, when asked how they met their potential dates, respondents most frequently reported being introduced by friends (58%) while 37% reported meeting their dates at bars, coffee shops and public places followed by the workplace (27%). Single men, on the other hand, were more likely to meet someone at a sporting or religious event (33%).
For those who chose to use these sites, the main reported reason was to look for love (60%) followed by to meet new friends (41%) and to hookup (34%). Among men, hooking up was the primary reason while, among women, finding lasting love was their primary reason for joining a dating site.
Those who did intend to look for love reported that age was among their most important criteria (25%) followed by education, employment and, lastly, physical appearance. Yet, focusing on appearance is still a main way to market for new start-up dating sites such as FaceDate, which matches users based on facial features.
Of course, for those who have already been successful in the dating circuit, these sites are the least on their minds with 60% of survey respondents reporting already being married. Among older respondents, the rate of marriage is much higher (86%) thus contributing to the higher likelihood of dating site usage among younger audiences. However, even among Millennials, 68% reported already being in a relationship.
These existing relationships have also seemed to last with almost half of American respondents reporting being together for greater than seven years. The length of the relationships was, of course, higher among married couples with 73% reporting being in the relationship for more than 7 years.
Yet some of these long-term relationships may have started through a dating site. Six percent (6%) of those who were in a relationship reported not suspending their dating site accounts and 8% reported finding their significant other on a dating site with Match.com, Tinder, Grindr and OKCupid being among the most frequently mentions. Pew Research corroborates this data in their reports that 5% of Americans who are currently in a relationship found their mate online.
Though dating sites are gaining in popularity among younger audiences, there is still an underlying negative perception potentially because non-users have found success through other methods. It is possible that, though dating sites offer other options to find a mate, the traditional methods will remain a part of American culture.
