Love is dead. Or at least a lot of people seem to think so.
33% of Americans feel that online dating has supposedly “killed romance,” according to research by YouGov Omnibus. And they may be onto something, based on some of the people using these services.
YouGov found that 17% of people who are currently date-cruising on apps or websites are there partly to cheat on their significant others. That’s more than one in six. Statistically, if you swipe six times, one of those potential matches is going to be a cheater.
Woof. That’s a lot to take in. It truly is a jungle out there.
But wait, there’s more.
7% of people who have ever used dating apps or sites did so to cheat. And particularly pervasive cheaters include millennials, parents of children under 18, and married people. So much for “forever.”
Casual sex is another popular reason for using such online tools. 33% of men say it was one of the reasons they logged on. And then 19% of users are on there to make platonic connections, so that’s strange.
Maybe all of these things are why online dating suffers from such a bad rep. Among Americans, “dangerous” is the word most associated with apps and websites. Other words include “interesting,” “convenient” and “fun.”
Among the 32% of Americans who have used an app or website to date, 17% find them to be “romantic.” But among people who have not turned to the online space for love, that number plummets to 4%.
And here’s the real kicker: 39% of Americans say online dating is “for people who can’t meet romantic partners offline or in-person,” but 47% have met a partner or know someone who has via a dating app, YouGov found.
So either we’re all hypocrites, or we have horrible self-esteem and really don’t like our friends. Either way, here’s the summary: The Internet has murdered romance, you’re probably swiping right on a cheater, and men really, really want to get lucky.