The Future of Dating

Match.com  |  March 11, 2019

Match, the world’s largest relationship company, recently released findings from its eighth annual Singles in America study — the nation’s largest, most comprehensive annual survey of 5,000+ single people living in the U.S. Key takeaways from this year’s study include:

Today, more than half of U.S. singles have tried online dating or dating apps. In fact, in 2017, the internet was the number-one place where singles met their last first date.

Friends with Benefits: 55% of singles have had a friends-with-benefits relationship, and 45% have had one turn into a committed relationship. However, only 19% actively seek out friends-with-benefits relationships (27% of men and 12% of women), and 88% of women and 73% of men say “it just happens.” Most are friends first, before the benefits (71% of men and 80% of women). Most singles agree that:

• Close friends of your Friends with Benefits are off limits to date (62%), and 69% of singles agree that close friends can’t be told about your relationship.
• One must disclose all other current sexual partners: 61%
• Birth Control or Condoms must be used: 92%

Good Sex, Bad Sex & Robot Sex

What makes good sex? “Americans are having long overdue conversations about people’s diverse sexual lives, respect, pleasure, and consent,” says Dr. Justin Garcia, gender studies endowed professor and research scientist at The Kinsey Institute, and Scientific Advisor to Match. “Singles of all ages, sexual orientations, races, ethnicities, and genders report that an enthusiastic, caring, and communicative partner are the key ingredients for a pleasurable sexual experience, which further emphasizes that affirmative consent and mutual respect and engagement is paramount to good sex.”

Good (Consensual) Sex: Regardless of gender or sexual orientation, 83% of singles regard a caring partner and enthusiastic partner as the top ingredients of good sex, followed by communication (78%), being a good kisser (76%), and achieving an orgasm (75%).

Bad (Consensual) Sex: 82% of singles consider too much talking, no passion (74%), little movement (63%), and bad kissing (62%) as the major don’ts of sex.

It Gets Better Over Time: The best age for sex? Single women are having the best sex at age 66 and men at 64.

“Mostly Hetero”: 62% of singles are interested in some form of a threesome (81% of males and 47% of females) and 39% of straight singles are interested in having a threesome that includes someone of their own gender.

Bad Sex Bell Curve: Satisfying sex rarely happens spontaneously. So while 14% of singles say bad sex during the first time is a deal breaker, the majority of singles expect partners to develop “good sex” after a few rolls in the hay. However, women are 70% less tolerant of bad sex than men.

Robogasms: There has been much discussion about the threat of robots taking our jobs, but what about our places in the bedroom? One in four singles would have sex with a robot, yet nearly half of singles would consider it cheating if their partner had sex with a robot.