NEW YORK — Whether looking for love or a casual encounter, 3 in 10 U.S. adults say they have used a dating site or app — with mixed experiences, according to a Pew Research Center study out Thursday. Among the under-35 set, more than half have tried it.
The overall number, which amounts to 30 percent, is unchanged since 2019, the last time the center took a broad look at online dating. In 2015, 15 percent of U.S. adults said they had used a dating site or app, said lead researcher Colleen McClain.
“When we talk to users who have been on the sites more recently, we see that there is really a mix of emotions,” she said, “everything from burnout to elation.”
Among the study’s key takeaways for McClain: One in 10 adults who have a partner said they met their current significant other on a dating site or app. The number rises to 1 in 5 for those under age 30.
Asked about their reasons for using the platforms, 44 percent of current or recent users had finding a long-term partner top of mind, with 40 percent responding that they wanted to date casually. Twenty-four percent were in search of casual sex, and 22 percent were hunting for new friends.
Using dating sites and apps is most popular among adults under age 30, Pew reported, with 53 percent saying they have done it. That compares with 37 percent of those ages 30 to 49; 20 percent of those 50 to 64; and 13 percent of those 65 and older.
Atlanta firefighter Andy Giron, 33, is among the pleasantly surprised. He said he had always considered digital dating “a little weird” until recently.
Giron had just gotten out of a long-term relationship in 2019 when he decided to give Tinder a try for some casual dating. That didn’t work out after a couple of attempts, but he hit gold on Hinge a short time later.
“My wife was my first date on Hinge,” he said. “She was so easy to talk to, and we had a lot in common. There was an immediate connection when we first met in person.”
The two married six months later, soon after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. They now have a year-old daughter. Giron was inspired to turn to online dating by his sister, who found her spouse the same way.
“I always thought you should meet someone the regular way, in person, but this is the way the world is now,” Giron said.
Across age groups, 51 percent of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults have used a dating site or app.
Men are more likely than women to report positive experiences in digital dating, 57 percent vs. 48 percent, and LGB users are more likely than straight users to say the same, 61 percent vs. 53 percent.
The number of men who have used dating sites or apps in the past year and said having casual sex was a major reason was 18 percentage points greater than the number of female users who said the same.
The Pew research is based on a survey of about 6,000 U.S. adults taken from July 5-17 last year.
Online daters’ experiences were mixed, with 53 percent saying they have been at least somewhat positive. Fourteen percent said they have been very positive, and 48 percent said their experiences have included at least one of four unwanted behaviors explored in the study.
Thirty-eight percent of those reporting negative experiences said they received unsolicited sexual messages or images, and 30 percent cited unwanted continued contact. Twenty-four percent said they were called an offensive name, and 6 percent said they were physically threatened.
Female users were more likely to report such experiences, especially those younger than 50.
Like Giron, 22-year-old Liv Loughlin, a tech company marketing associate in San Jose, Calif., had just ended a long-term relationship when she first tried digital dating last September.
“I wanted to jump into it, especially to meet people because I was new to the area,” she said. “My first date on a dating app was on Hinge, and it was crazy. He was immediately very, very touchy, and there were all these sexual overtones to everything he said. … I ended up bailing.”
But Loughlin didn’t give up. She turned to Bumble and is now happily in a relationship with a man she met there.
“I figured I had hit rock bottom and it couldn’t go anywhere but up,” she said.
Safety is a large concern for some digital daters. There have been demands over the years for more protections, such as required background checks, in light of reported stalking, sexual assaults and other violence. Few sites require such checks of every user.
“We see that Americans are divided on this,” McClain said. “Forty-eight percent say that dating sites are a safe way to meet people. A very similar share, 49 percent, say that they’re not safe.”
Stacy Overcamp, 58, an unemployed marketing specialist, has been dating online since about 1998, with several contacts leading to relationships over the years.
“I’ve never had a problem meeting men online,” she said. “I’ve had a problem meeting quality men online.”
