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27 Fascinating Internet Dating Statistics

As access to the internet becomes more saturated per household around the world, the ability to meet new people becomes easier. Instead of sitting at a bar or trying to start up an awkward conversation with a stranger at the grocery store, internet dating is a simple way to find a potential match.

11% of American adults have used an online dating site or a dating app at least once to meet someone.

Internet Dating Facts

For people who describe themselves as being single and looking, the odds are 3x greater that they’ll be on a dating site right now. Just because dating sites are being used, however, doesn’t mean that there is going to be a potential match found.

  • 22% of 25-34 year olds are internet dating right now. That’s compared to 17% of the 35-44 age demographic.
  • 66% of online daters have gone on a date with someone they met through a dating site or app. That’s up from 43% of online daters who said the same thing in 2005.
  • The percentage of people who have dated online and said that they found their spouse or long-term significant other: 23%.
  • 59% of all internet users agree with the statement that “online dating is a good way to meet people.”
  • 53% of people who use the internet say that dating online can help someone find a better overall long-term match.
  • 21%. That’s the percentage of people who say that internet dating makes someone look or feel desperate for love.
  • 32% of people on the internet say that internet dating makes it more difficult for people to settle down because there is always someone new to date.
  • The percentage of Americans who personally know someone who is or has been internet dating: 42%
  • 5% of Americans who are currently married or in a long-term partnership met their partner somewhere online. 8% of 18-29 year olds in a marriage or committed relationship, however, met their partner online.

The world of internet dating is changing from a decade ago. It is much more accepted as an authentic way to meet people. With broadband saturation increasing, it is becoming easier to interact with people online in a video to video way instead of through chat boxes and emails. This makes the process less threatening than a real life encounter, yet still offers the chance for some face-to-face contact. As technology continues to progress, the attitudes toward internet dating will likely improve as well.

What Do Online Daters Think of Internet Dating?

  • 79% of people who use internet dating sites say that the experience was a good way to meet new people that they may not have met otherwise.
  • 70% agree that it helps people find a better romantic match because they have access to a wide range of potential partners. Yet even some online daters view the process itself and the individuals they encounter.
  • Online daters are 3x less likely to consider themselves as being desperate when compared to all internet users.
  • 29% of Americans now know someone who met a spouse or other long-term partner through online dating, up from just 15% in 2005.
  • People with an income about $75,000 per year are 2x more likely to know someone who has found a spouse through internet dating.
  • 57% of college graduates say that they know someone who is internet dating right now.
  • 1 in 3 internet daters have paid a site or app for access to information that could help the find a date.

Many people need 28 hours in the day to get everything done. Since there are only 24 hours, something has to give and for those seeking a partner, traditional dating tends to be one of the first casualty. The facts of the modern relationship are this: when people are busy pursuing a career, there isn’t much time to go out somewhere to meet new people. This makes it virtually impossible to find a spouse in the traditional way. Internet dating provides a simple solution to meet and communicate with new people when time allows. It fits in with the modern lifestyle and explains why those who make more or are college graduates know more people who are internet dating.

Is Internet Dating Always a Positive Experience?

  • The percentage of people who say that they have encountered someone who seriously misrepresented themselves in an internet dating profile: 54%.
  • 28% of online daters have been contacted by someone through an online dating site or app in a way that made them feel harassed or uncomfortable.
  • Women [42%] are more likely to experience a negative message or contact through an internet dating site when compared to men [17%].
  • Only 4% of online daters have attended a group outing or other physical event organized by an online dating site.
  • 24% of internet users have searched for information online about someone they dated in the past. The same percentage of people say that they’ve used the internet to facilitate flirting with others.
  • 29% of internet users with recent dating experience have gone online to search for information about someone they were currently dating or about to meet for a first date.
  • 17% have posted pictures or other details from a date on a social networking site.

The internet makes it easier to become something you may not be. This is often reflected through internet dating. Users can shave a few pounds, and an inch or two, or promote some specific accomplishments that may be “slightly” exaggerated. It also becomes easy to constantly message someone to meet self-interests or to check up on former flames or dates that didn’t work out in the past. This results in a negative experience for many women and some men, but it doesn’t stop the hope that internet dating provides. That’s ultimately why people keep coming back to online dating. Every day creates the chance to meet someone who could become a long-term partner.

Is Social Networking A Problem For Internet Dating?

  • 41% of people in the 18-29 age demographic have blocked or unfriended someone who was making them uncomfortable.
  • 36% of people ages 18-29 have blocked or unfriended someone with whom they used to be in a relationship. The same percentage has untagged or removed photographs from social networks.
  • Only 7% of people in the 65+ age demographic have blocked someone who was flirting with them online.

Social networking and internet dating are soon going to fuse together into one experience. For many internet daters, that is already happening. Social networks are part of our personal lives and so are the dates that people choose to go on. This may help people get to know each other in a more complete way, but it could also create future problems with how easy information is to access. What these statistics do prove is this: internet dating is growing.

Internet Dating Facts

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