In 1965 a small team from Harvard created Match service, which in fact became the first dating website in history. It offered its users, paying $3, to take a quick survey and based on the answers provided a list of the most compatible people.
Due to the limited availability of the Internet, there was not much excitement about Match. The boom happened in the 2000s. And by 2020 the financial volume of the global Internet dating market increased to almost $12 billion.
Now we suggest you explore the online dating market today and some statistics.
Main Online Dating Services
As of 2020 there are about 8,000 online dating services in the world. This number is constantly growing. You can divide them into three large categories:
Based on personal compatibility.
Based on user location.
Designed for a special audience: people of a certain age category, sexual minorities, and others.
Because of the overabundance of services, niche resources and mobile programs are becoming the most popular. For example, eDarling, Teamo and eHarmony are perfect for serious relationships.
Some services have a non-standard approach. For example, a few years ago the Eve application was launched in the United States. The developers position it to search for serious acquaintances and protect girls from harassment. This is implemented quite simply – the more female accounts are liked by male users, the faster their own rating decreases. In this case the man takes the choice of a partner more seriously.
The analytical service SEMrush has compiled a list of the most popular online dating websites, based on the number of search entries:
Badoo
Tinder
Grindr
Meetic
Meetme
Plenty of fish
Okcupid
Zoosk
Parship
Attention: this rating may not be accurate since the number of search entries on engines and the number of real users of a website/application can differ significantly. Nevertheless, the popularity of Badoo, Tinder, and Grindr cannot be denied.
Some Statistics
According to various statistics (with a small margin of error), about a third of all Internet users have used dating resources at least once. About 1.5 million people spend 4 hours or more on such resources.
The sex ratio on websites is on average 50:50. However, the performance of different websites may vary significantly. On many resources the male audience is dominant.
Interesting fact: British psychologist Jeffrey Gavin conducted a study in which young people aged 19-26 years old who registered on dating websites took part. As a result, 72% of users continued to chat offline.
Many experts argue that websites like Match and Tinder are extremely beneficial for modern society. They strengthen social ties and increase the diversity of society. Such resources make it possible for people from various social circles to communicate. And from different geographical locations. In America, thanks to dating services by 2017 the number of interracial marriages has increased by 50%.
According to Match representatives, every third relationship and every fifth marriage today begins with online dating. And this is very significant because it was almost impossible to imagine something like this twenty years ago.
In different countries there are significant differences in the popularity of dating services. The analytical resource Sensor Tower has provided its list of the most popular dating applications by country:
- USA — Tinder, POF, Bumble, Zoosk, Match;
- China — Tantan, Momo, Zhenai, Yanfenba, Blued;
- India — Tinder, Mico, Jaumo, Shaadi, Brahat;
- Mexico — Tinder, Hitwe, Badoo, Jaumo, POF;
- Russia — Frim, Mamba, Badoo, Topface, LovePlanet.
An interesting study was conducted in 2017 by the Russian Kaspersky Lab in conjunction with B2B International. Almost 6,500 users from thirty countries of the world were interviewed. Based on the data obtained, the researchers were able to compile a typical portrait of a person who uses an online dating website. The following are the main features:
- male 33-34 y.o.;
- full-time employment;
- probably, a manager or niche employee: a teacher, a scientist, an engineer.
Researchers also indicate that about 10-11% of users are businessmen or firm directors.
Why Are People Interested in Online Dating?
The aforementioned Kaspersky Lab and B2B International have established that finding a person for a serious relationship is not the only and most important reason why people register on dating platforms. Statistically, among the common purposes are the following:
- entertainment — 48%;
- new friends — 41%;
- to have a good time — 24%;
- to find a partner — 19%;
- sex — 13%;
- to get married and start a family — 11%.
About 5% of respondents said they registered on dating websites to check if their partner was cheating on them. 4% could not decide on the answer, and 12% chose not to answer this question at all.
In this survey, it turned out that over 50% of people lied about themselves. 67% of them were men who were already married.
Match Group reports that right now there are at least 600 million single people in the world who have free access to the Web. At the same time 400 million of them have never used dating websites or dating apps. Analysts predict that this number will constantly reduce.
Who Uses Dating Services More Often Than Others?
According to statistics, the main group of users of such resources is millennials. People born between 1881 and 1996. They were the first generation most involved in digital technology.
Kaspersky Lab reports that over 40% of people aged 25-34 use online dating services. Tinder provides similar statistics, in which 85% of users of the service are people 18-24 years old. Many analytical resources report about relatively rapid growth in the adult and even elderly audience.
The data on online dating traffic by country also looks interesting:
- The United States of America — 62,9%
- Great Britain — 7,34%
- Australia — 4,5%
- Canada — 2,3%
- The Netherlands — 2%
- France — 1,73
- Germany — 1,64%
- India — 1,63%
- Brazil — 1,41%
- Switzerland — 1,11%
- Other countries — 13,5%
The popularity of dating websites in the United States is caused by two factors. First, it is a large area of the country. Users are often interested in finding a partner from a different city or state. Second, it is the mentality of the Americans. They do not welcome casual acquaintances in the street and increasingly prefer to meet on the Web.
More Interesting Statistical Data
A few years ago, a large study was conducted by staff at the Wisconsin Institute. Some results are similar to those stated above, but some of them are unexpected.
- Over 80% of users of dating websites provide untruthful facts about themselves. Most often, they lie about their height, age, and weight. Men usually add several inches to their height, and girls prefer to deduct several kilograms.
- Many girls said they had fears of meeting a serial killer online. Therefore, they are wary of online dating.
- On average, 1 out of 10 users at least once started a fake profile on a dating website. But the number of such profiles is reducing, as popular websites carefully check new profiles and the information provided in them.
- Typically, men view profiles twice as fast. Girls study male profiles more carefully.
- About a third of users prefer not to continue online communication. But the overall dynamics are positive. For example, even 10 years ago, more than half of online dating did not end in a real meeting.
But perhaps the most interesting is the statistics of divorces. Among couples who met on the Internet, the number of marriage dissolutions does not exceed 6% whereas families that met offline, break up with a probability of 8%. The difference is small, but it is still there.
All statistics that we described above are relevant here and now. But after two years we will witness a different situation. The development of digital technologies, the spread of the Internet, and, of course, the increase in the population of the entire planet will affect it. With great confidence, we can talk about the positive dynamics of the popularity of online dating all over the world, including developing countries where dating websites and applications are not so popular.
Source: online dating website CooMeet.
