Online dating is on the rise, but many users still feel more frustrated than hopeful about the experience of using apps such as Tinder, Bumble, and OkCupid.
Three-in-ten U.S. adults have used an online dating service at some point in their lives, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center, which conducted the study in October. Out of those, 12 percent have married or entered into a committed relationship with someone they met through an online dating app or website.
Compare that to 2013, when 11 percent of adults had used an online dating service at one point in their life, and just 3 percent had married or entered into a committed relationship that way.
The study surveyed 4,860 U.S.adults with a range of questions to get a better understanding of how people use dating apps and what they expect from their experience.
Although the number of people jumping into the digital dating pool has increased, it doesn’t mean that the complications of online dating have fallen away. Indeed, 45 percent of those who have used a service in the past year report that it left them frustrated, compared with 28 percent who said they remained hopeful about their dating prospects.
One metric for how people measure success online is how many messages they receive, though it’s not always a simple case of more is better. The study found that 43 percent said they did not receive enough messages, while 17 percent said they received too many messages, and 40 percent were happy with how many communications ended up in their inboxes.
But when broken down by gender, men were more likely to feel that they did not receive enough messages, while women were more likely to feel they got too many.
More than half of women also felt online dating was not a safe way to meet people, compared with 39 percent of men.
The vast majority (71 percent) said that other users lie about themselves to appear more desirable, 50 percent believe other users set up fake accounts to scam them, and 48 percent said they received sexually explicit images without their consent.
Other complaints common among younger women include getting called an offensive name, receiving a physical threat, or getting contacted after telling someone they were not interested.
Despite these issues, half of the respondents expressed ambivalence about dating apps, reporting that their experience was neither positive or negative.
“I think it’s a reflection of how people view digital life overall,” said Monica Anderson, one of the report’s authors for Pew. “For example, when we look at the share of people that use social media, that’s risen. At the same, there are low levels of people who say they trust the information they get on social media.”
She added that a user’s relative success on a platform also reflects whether they view it positively or negatively.
Younger people ages 18-29 were much more likely to use dating apps than older people.
When broken down by race, the number of white, black, and Hispanic users were roughly equal, but those with at least some college education or a college degree made up 70 percent of users, compared with 22 percent who held a high school degree or less.
The latest study doesn’t include teen use of dating apps, given that most services are restricted to adults. However, a 2015 report from Pew found that 8 percent of 13-to-17-year-olds had met a partner online, though largely through social media platforms rather than teen-specific dating apps. Half of the teens reported that they showed romantic interest in someone by friending them on Facebook or through another social media outlet.
But texting is still the favorite among younger users, with nearly 75 percent of teens saying they use text messaging to communicate with their partner daily.
Dolly Parton, Eminem, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon are just a few of the nominees announced for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2022 induction. Results of the voting will be released in May, however, the ceremony date has yet to be announced.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: CEO of HereAfter AI discusses how artificial intelligence can be used to preserve family history and stories, and allow you to 'talk' to loved ones that have passed; Creator of the board game 'Travel Explore Discover' explains how she came up with the idea for this informative and educational board game, and how she's using the proceeds to give back to her community; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Humboldt Current.'
According to the Federal Reserve, the investment gap between Black and white Americans has remained substantial, with only 34 percent of Black households joining in on the historic rise in the markets. Stacey Tisdale, the first Black woman to have reported from the NYSE and the CEO and president of Mind Money Media Inc., said that the data might not be as disheartening as it seems. "I think that number is very deceiving. That Federal Reserve study is actually from 2019, and it's very important that we all look beneath that number and look beneath the surface because there is nothing short of an investing revolution going on in the Black community," Tisdale said.
James Vlahos, Co-Founder and CEO of HereAfter AI, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how artificial intelligence can be used to preserve family history and stories, and allow you to 'talk' to loved ones that have passed.
Ava Rathenberg, Creator of the board game 'Travel Explore Discover,' joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how she came up with the idea for this informative and educational board game, and how she's using the proceeds to give back to her community.
An award-winning performance by the LSU Tiger Girls dance team is going viral on TikTok, but like many other viral tiktoks, this one had a larger story to tell. The story goes back to 2021 when for the first time in 22 years, the LSU dance team was informed it could not compete at Universal Dance Association Nationals. The team made their anticipated return to UDA Nationals this year with a performance that delivered a strong and clear message to their university. The LSU Tiger Girls walked away from the competition with their first national championship title in 12 years, redemption against the university that held them back, and of course- millions of new fans and friends on TikTok.
Solid-state battery maker Factorial Energy recently raised $200 million in a Series D round led by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis. Factorial says the funding will be used to accelerate commercial production and deployment of its solid-state battery technology, which the company says is safer, and offers up to 50% more driving range than current lithium-ion technology. Factorial also has joint development agreements (announced in late 2021) with Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Hyundai, three of the top 10 global automotive manufacturers, to commercialize its batteries. Factorial CEO Siyu Huang joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Former Dolphins coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL over racial discrimination, exposing a long-running problem the NFL has had with diversity in its top coaching and management positions. Eric Mitchell, the president and CEO of public relations and communications company LifeFlip Media, joined Cheddar News to delve into the scandal rocking the pro football world just before the Super Bowl. "There is a problem. If you look at who owns teams in the NFL, it's right, it's a good old boys club, it's a bunch of old white guys," he said. "So, it's exposing something that's been around for ages and now that we're sitting in 2022 has come up."
This April, Madison Square Garden will be hosting the first-ever women's boxing match to headline at the arena in its 140 years of history in boxing. Undisputed lightweight champion, Katie Taylor, and seven-division champion, Amanda Serrano, will go head-to-head for a career-high guaranteed seven-figure purse for both of them. The pair joined Cheddar News to talk about the upcoming "fight of their lives." "I mean, this is the first step I believe," said Serrano. "Unheard of, two women headlining the Garden, we get in the biggest paydays of our career, I hope it continues to break down barriers."
