Match: 2017 American Singles Dating Report

"Singles are redefining courtship in healthy and creative ways," said Professor Helen Fisher, biological anthropologist and chief scientific advisor to Match. "Some people need months of friendship before kissing; others have sex soon after meeting; and many still start relationships through traditional dating. The scope of courtship is expanding - and all of these different approaches have been successful in starting a relationship. In addition, the first date has taken on important new meanings: in the past, the first date was a simple look, but now it is often seen as the beginning of a romantic experience, and singles want to define every aspect of the relationship journey - including new rules on social media. Even more exciting to me is that 72% of singles date across party lines. For the vast majority of singles, romance is more important than politics, which is not surprising. The human brain is built for love."

Other highlights from Match's survey of single Americans include:

The future of dating

Today, half of single Americans use online dating or dating apps, and in 2017 the internet was already the number one way singles go about dating.

Friends? Sex? First date? Three paths to romance: Today's singles are looking for serious relationships (69%), and they have a variety of ways to achieve this goal. (1) 40% of people first establish a friendship, such as starting a friend contact (Hanging out), at which point they skip the sex part and do not consider it a formal first date. (2) 55% of singles have a sexual partner. (3) 44% of singles have had a first formal date experience. And many singles are pursuing all three methods at the same time.

Hanging Out : Hanging out has become a new way to find a partner, with 29% of singles who have had a Hanging Out experience developing into a serious relationship. Many singles believe that the following actions are acceptable during the Hanging Out stage:

• It is acceptable to meet on the same day (48% for friends, higher than 27% for first date)
• AA for expenses (48% of people agree to AA when meeting friends, which is higher than the 29% in formal dating situations)
• Only 37% of singles think kissing is OK when they are just friends, while 64% think it is OK on a first date .

Friends with benefits: 55% of singles have had a sexual partner, and 45% have developed a consensual relationship. Only 19% actively seek a friends with benefits relationship (27% of men, 12% of women). 88% of women and 73% of men say that a friends with benefits relationship happens naturally. Most friends with benefits start as friends (71% of men, 80% of women).

Most singles agree with the following:

• The best friend of a sex partner should be excluded from dating (62%), and 69% of singles think that the relationship should not be known to best friends
• Having to disclose other existing sexual partners: 61%
• Birth control and contraception must be used: 92%

First date: 44% of singles had a first date with someone in 2017. Singles have different requirements for first dates with friends and sex partners, which are roughly as follows:

• Arranging a date 2-3 days in advance is considered acceptable for a first date (54% accept this, while 27% accept same-day arrangements)
• A fine restaurant is more acceptable for a first date (59% of singles agree with this, while only 22% say fast food is OK)
• Perfect ending: Half of singles would accept a kiss on the cheek, 64% would approve of kissing
• The more the merrier: 40% of singles are dating more than one person at a time, and this isn’t just the case with millennials. Gen Xers and Boomers are 129% and 224% more likely to date more than one person at a time, respectively. This is true not only for men, but also for women, with more women (69%) dating more than men (51%). Some singles (19%) are dating multiple people because they want to have sex with more than one person.

New norms on social media: Nearly two-thirds of singles use social networks at least once a day, with women using them more than men (72% vs. 59%). Here are some new rules emerging:

• Before a date, establish boundaries: Less than one in five people think it’s OK to follow each other on Facebook (19%), followed by following each other on Instagram (17%), following each other on Snapchat (19%), or liking photos and articles before a date (20%).

• After a few dates, start to get more social: 36% of singles agree it's time to start following each other on Instagram; 33% say they already do so; 75% will form a friend relationship on Facebook, and 76% send each other messages.
• Establishing a relationship - becoming official: 52% of people said it is acceptable to follow each other's friends, and 66% think it is acceptable to disclose the relationship on Facebook, although 13% said they don't want to do that. 66% of people think it is acceptable to change the profile picture to a photo taken together. 64% of people said it is OK to change the phone background picture to a couple photo if the relationship is established.

Dating advice from women

What women expect on a first date: The number one feeling women want is comfort (79%), followed by happiness (35%) and third is liking (27%).

What women think is appropriate on a first date: 94% of women want their date to compliment their clothes, 90% want their date to wait for her to arrive, 82% want their date to hug her, 71% expect a kiss on the cheek, 91% approve of their date paying the bill, and 45% think it is acceptable to split the bill.

On a first date, women find the following behaviors unacceptable: Frequently checking your phone is the first behavior that women find offensive, with only 1 in 10 women accepting this behavior, while 1 in 4 men find it acceptable. Other behaviors that make women uncomfortable include:

• Drinking . More than 80% of women think it is inappropriate to have more than 2 drinks on a first date.
• Being rude to a waiter: 38% of women find this a turn-off
• Being 15 minutes late: 1 in 4 men think this is acceptable
• Take a sip of a female user's drink : 58% of women don't like this

Good sex, bad sex & robot sex

What are the elements of satisfying sex? People of all ages, genders, races, and ethnicities believe that passion, affection, and communication with a partner are important components of a pleasurable sexual experience. This further highlights that explicit consent, mutual respect, and mutual involvement are essential for satisfying sex.

Satisfying sex: 83% of singles believe that a caring and passionate partner is the most important factor in satisfying sex, followed by communication (78%), great kissing skills (76%) and reaching orgasm (75%).

Bad sex: 82% of people think that talking too much, lack of passion (74%), little physical activity (63%), and poor intercourse skills (62%) are the main factors leading to bad sex experiences.

Age is still the best age for sex: Single women have their best sex at 66, while men have their best sex at 64.

Mostly heterosexual: 62% of singles are interested in threesome-like activities (81% of men and 47% of women), and 39% of singles are interested in threesomes that include someone of their own sex.

Bad Sex Curve: Satisfying sex rarely happens at the same time, so 14% of singles think that bad sex for the first time will mess things up. The vast majority of singles expect their partners to develop good sex skills after a few rounds, but women's tolerance for bad sex is 70% lower than men's.

Machine sex: One in four singles think it would be possible to have sex with a robot, but half think their partner would feel cheated if they had sex with a robot.

Trump Effect

Love transcends politics: Despite the divisive political environment in the United States, singles still prioritize love, with 72% willing to cross political affiliations to find love. Only 10% of singles find Republicans off-putting, and only 5% dislike Democrats.

Voting or not? Not important: People in 2017 are not as concerned about their partner's voting behavior as they were in 2015. Most people are no longer too concerned about whether their potential partner has an opinion on major events, with only 13% of men and 19% of women saying this would reduce their interest, compared to 32% and 37% in 2015. They are no longer concerned about whether or not a partner is registered to vote, with only 12% of men and 19% of women saying this would reduce their interest in the other person in 2017, compared to 21% and 29% in 2015. Not knowing who is running for office is also not that important, with only 23% of men and 35% of users saying this would reduce their interest, compared to 34% and 39% in 2015.

Political civility and tolerance of different opinions: In 2017, 45% of people said they would try to understand the other person's expectations, 26% of singles changed the subject, or politely told their date that they disagreed with this point (41%), and only 5% would leave immediately.

Don't ask, just ask: 54% of singles believe the current political climate makes it more important to discover a potential partner's overall political views. But only 23% are willing to ask these questions on a first date. Only 16% of men and 18% of women say the current political climate makes them more willing to talk about politics on a first date. Most still avoid the topic, suggesting that for singles, love trumps politics.

via: 199IT translated from Match, more //www.singlesinamerica.com/