Finding love online isn’t a shameful secret as perhaps it once was. Thanks to dating apps like Tinder and Bumble, meeting online is a pain in the rump, but Valentine’s day is coming, so you know.
As indicated in Match’s annual Singles in America survey, 15 percent of the 5,509 single people polled admitted they were full-blown addicted to dating apps. But why is the experience leaving so many down? Is technology not the romantic boon it’s sometimes portrayed to be?
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Related Story: “Gen X More Addicted To Social Media Than Millennials”
In fact, millennials are 22% more likely to believe technology has made finding love more difficult and 177% more likely to feel an overwhelming pressure to get married. Oh, and 57% of millennials are lonely.
This perhaps reveals just why so many millennials turn to swiping and chatting on dating apps. Through technology and social media, so much external pressure and media exists instructing their dating habits and what should be happening—57% of millennials confirm social media has triggered their FOMO. Constant reminders of what everyone else is doing and seeing them engage in lovely affairs perhaps isn’t the best indicator of what you should be doing.
Staggering numbers, but not without hope. Millennials are 125% more likely to admit they’re addicted to finding love than previous generations. And millennials are 30% more likely to confirm wanting a relationship this year and 30% more likely to have first dates lead to second dates than other generations.
Technology might’ve opened connections and individuals previously gone missing, it hasn’t necessarily made things easier. It’s forever changed the way we date and seek love. It almost makes you wonder if it’s worth going ghost on social media and dating apps, reconnecting with the old-school ways. The answer—maybe not. Match’s polling showed that people who engage with dating online are 333% more likely to go on first dates than those who don’t.
So if you’re alone, take comfort in knowing you’re not alone. We’re all getting burned on finding love and technology and dating apps. But these numbers illustrate maybe you shouldn’t stop swiping right just yet.
