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Pew Inquiry Center conducted this report to empathize Americans' attitudes toward and personal experiences with dating and relationships. These findings are based on a survey conducted October. xvi-28, 2019, among 4,860 U.South. adults. This includes those who took part as members of Pew Inquiry Center'southward American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses, besides as respondents from the Ipsos KnowledgePanel who indicated that they identify equally lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB).

Recruiting ATP panelists by phone or mail ensures that nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. This gives us conviction that any sample can represent the whole U.Due south. adult population (see our Methods 101 explainer on random sampling). To farther ensure that each ATP survey reflects a counterbalanced cross-department of the nation, the data are weighted to match the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, teaching and other categories.

For more, run across the report's methodology about the project. Yous can also find the questions asked, and the answers the public provided, in this topline.

Partnered adults are those who say they are currently married, living with a partner or in a committed romantic relationship.

Unmarried or unpartnered adults are those who say they are currently not married, living with a partner or in a committed romantic relationship. A small share of unmarried adults study that they are casually dating someone.

Daters, single-and-looking and on the dating market all signal that someone is currently not married, living with a partner or in a committed romantic human relationship and has indicated that they are looking for a committed romantic relationship only, casual dates merely or either a committed romantic relationship or coincidental dates.

Not dating, not looking, non-daters or non on the dating market means someone is not married, living with a partner or in a committed romantic relationship and has indicated that they are not currently looking for a human relationship or dates.

Human relationship, committed relationship and committed romantic relationship are used interchangeably.

Casually dating someone refers to unmarried adults who say they are currently casually dating someone – regardless of whether they say they are looking for a committed romantic relationship, casual dates or neither.

LGB is sometimes used as a shorthand for adults who place as lesbian, gay or bisexual, regardless of the sex of their partner, if they are partnered.

Online dating users or online daters refer to the 30% of respondents in this survey who answered aye to the following question: "Take you e'er used an online dating site or dating app?"

References to White and Black adults include simply those who are non-Hispanic and identify every bit but 1 race. Hispanics are of any race. The views and experiences of Asian Americans are not analyzed separately in this report due to sample limitations. Data for Asian Americans and other racial and ethnic groups are incorporated into the general population figures throughout the report.

References to college graduates or people with a college degree comprise those with a available'southward caste or more education. Some college includes those with an associate degree and those who attended college but did not obtain a caste. High school refers to those who have a high school diploma or its equivalent, such as a General Teaching Development (GED) document.

All references to party affiliation include those who lean toward that party. Republicans include those who place as Republicans and independents who say they lean toward the Republican Political party, and Democrats include those who place every bit Democrats and independents who say they lean toward the Democratic Political party.

References to those living in urban, suburban and rural areas are based on respondents' respond to the following question: "How would you draw the community where yous currently live? (i) urban, (two) suburban, (iii) rural."

Most daters say their dating lives aren't going well and it's difficult to find people to dateAs more Americans plow to online dating and the #MeToo movement leaves its imprint on the dating scene, near half of U.S. adults – and a majority of women – say that dating has become harder in the last ten years.

Among those who are on the dating market – the fifteen% of American adults who are unmarried and looking for a committed relationship or coincidental dates – almost say they are dissatisfied with their dating lives and that it has been hard to discover people to engagement, co-ordinate to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in Oct 2019.i

While single-and-looking men and women study equal levels of dissatisfaction with their dating lives and the ease of finding people to date, women are more than probable to say they take had some particularly negative experiences. Most women who are currently single and looking to date (65%) say they take experienced at least i of 6 harassing behaviors asked about in the survey from someone they were dating or had been on a date with, such as being touched in a way that made them uncomfortable or rumors being spread about their sexual history. This compares with fifty% of men who are single and looking. The design holds when looking at all women and men, whether they are currently on the dating marketplace or not.

Women are also more than likely to come across run a risk – both physical and emotional – when it comes to dating. When those who say dating has go harder for most people in the terminal x years are asked to draw in their own words why they think this is the case, women are twice as likely as men to cite increased take a chance. For their part, men are more than likely than women to say technology is a reason dating has gotten harder. Overall, 47% of Americans say dating is at present harder than information technology was 10 years ago, while 19% say information technology's easier and 33% say it'south about the same.

Long-distance relationships, debt and voting for Donald Trump top list of relationship deal breakersSingles who are looking for a relationship are generally open to dating people with many different traits and from a diverseness of backgrounds. For instance, large majorities say they would consider a relationship with someone of a different religion or different race or ethnicity than them. About likewise say they would seriously date someone who makes significantly more or significantly less money than them. When information technology comes to beingness in a relationship with someone who lives far abroad, has a pregnant amount of debt, or who voted for Donald Trump, however, many of those who are looking for a relationship would hesitate.

The nationally representative survey of 4,860 U.South. adults was conducted online Oct. xvi-28, 2019 – before the coronavirus pandemic shook the dating mural – using Pew Research Heart's American Trends Panel.2

Amidst the other cardinal findings:

Nigh Americans say information technology'due south harder for men to know how to carry on dates in the era of the #MeToo movement

The public sees challenges for men dating in the era of #MeToo A majority of the overall public (65%) says the increased focus on sexual harassment and assault in the last few years has made information technology harder for men to know how to interact with someone they're on a date with. About a quarter (24%) say it hasn't fabricated much departure, and nine% say information technology has become easier for men to know how to behave. Fewer people think this focus on harassment and assault has made information technology harder for women to know how to interact with someone they're on a appointment with (43%), while 38% say it hasn't made much difference for women.

Men – especially older men – and Republicans are more than likely than women and Democrats to say information technology's harder for men to know how to human action when dating in the era of the #MeToo movement, though majorities across the board express this view. For example, 75% of men ages 50 and older say information technology is at present harder for men to know how to behave on dates, compared with 63% of men younger than 50, 58% of women younger than 50 and 63% of women l and older.

Premarital sex is largely seen as adequate, but about view sex on a first appointment and open relationships equally taboo

Most Americans say premarital sex is at least sometimes acceptable Most adults (65%) say sex between single adults in a committed human relationship is acceptable at least sometimes, including 43% who say this is always acceptable. Casual sex activity betwixt consenting adults who are not in a committed relationship is also seen equally generally adequate (62%). About half (49%) say it is adequate for consenting adults to substitution explicit images of themselves.

When it comes to open relationships – that is, a committed human relationship where both people concord that information technology is acceptable to date or have sex with other people – the public is less accepting. Some 32% recollect this can be acceptable at least sometimes (regardless of whether they would do information technology themselves), while 48% say open relationships are never acceptable. Having sex activity on a first appointment is also still seen as taboo past some. While 30% say it can be adequate nether some or all circumstances, 42% say it is never acceptable.

Younger adults are more than probable to run across these dating norms as adequate – sometimes dramatically so. For case, 70% of 18- to 29-twelvemonth-olds say consenting adults exchanging explicit images of themselves can be acceptable at least sometimes, compared with just 21% of those ages 65 and older. Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults too tend to exist more accepting of these norms than their direct counterparts. In fact, LGB adults are the only demographic group studied in which a majority said that open relationships are always or sometimes acceptable (61% vs. 29% of straight adults).

Vast majorities say that breaking up through technology is more often than not unacceptable, and few say they would 'ghost' someone

Breaking up in person is largely seen as the only acceptable way to end a committed relationshipDespite concerns that Americans' rising dependence on communicating through technology would pb to more impersonal breakups through devices, most agree that breaking up in person is the way to get. The vast majority of adults say that it is always or sometimes acceptable for a person to break upward with a committed romantic partner in person (97%). Almost one-half (51%) say information technology is at least sometimes acceptable to intermission up over the telephone – though only x% say this is always acceptable. Far fewer say it tin can exist acceptable to break up through a text bulletin (14%), electronic mail (14%) or individual message on a social media site (xi%). In fact, most say it is never acceptable to finish committed relationships through those forms of engineering. The shares are strikingly similar when information technology comes to breaking up with someone a person is casually dating rather than in a committed human relationship with.

The survey also asked those who are single and looking for a relationship or dates how they would permit someone know they didn't want to go out with them again after a first date. Only 8% say they would ghost someone (cut off communication). Well-nigh half (52%) say they wouldn't accept the initiative to reach out but would let the other person know if they got in bear on. The remaining share (40%) say they would contact the other person to permit them know. Single-and-looking men are evenly split on whether they would proactively allow the other person know if they didn't want to go out again after the first date (47%) or wait for the other person to contact them earlier letting them know (47%). A majority of single-and-looking women (59%), on the other manus, would respond if the other person got in touch starting time, while thirty% say they would proactively attain out and let the other person know.

Single people overall written report that they don't feel much pressure from society and the people they know to find a partner

Most single people don't feel a lot of pressure to find a partnerWell-nigh single people (including both those on and off the dating marketplace) say they don't feel a lot of pressure to notice a partner from their friends, family or gild in general. Most two-in-ten (22%) say they feel at to the lowest degree some pressure from friends, while 31% say the aforementioned almost family members and 37% say they feel order is pressuring them.

Feeling pressure to be in a committed relationship is highly dependent on age. Younger singles feel much more pressure from each source. For instance, 53% of single 18- to 29-year-olds say at that place is at least some pressure from gild to discover a partner, compared with 42% of thirty- to 49-year-olds, 32% of l- to 64-year-olds and 21% of those ages 65 and older. In fact, a majority of singles 65 and older – the vast majority of whom are widowed or divorced, in dissimilarity to young singles who are mostly never married – say they feel no force per unit area at all from each of these sources.

Single women and men give different reasons for difficulty finding people to date

Women say it's hard to find someone who is looking for the same kind of relationship and meets their standardsDaters who had difficulty finding people to engagement in the by year were asked about some of the possible reasons that might be the instance. Among these daters, the most mutual explanations include the challenge of finding someone who is looking for the aforementioned type of human relationship (53% say this is a major reason), difficulty in budgeted people (46%) and trouble finding someone who meets their expectations (43%).

In that location are large differences by gender on this topic. Unmarried-and-looking women are far more than likely than single-and-looking men to say that trouble finding someone who was looking for the same kind of relationship or who meets their expectations are major reasons they've had difficulty. In turn, men are much more than likely than women to say difficulty budgeted people is a major reason.

Roughly one-in-ten partnered adults met their partners online, but this is far more common among some groups

Partnered LGB adults are far more likely than their straight counterparts to have met their partner online A plurality of those who are married, living with a partner or in a committed romantic human relationship say they first met their spouse or partner through friends or family (32%). Smaller shares say they met through work (xviii%) or schoolhouse (17%), and still fewer met their partner online (12%).

While relatively pocket-size shares of partnered adults start met their partner online, some groups are more likely to have done so. Well-nigh ane-in-five partnered adults ages xviii to 29 (21%) say they met their partner online, compared with 15% or fewer among their older counterparts. And LGB adults are far more likely to have first met their partner online than directly adults (28% vs. 11%).

Overall, three-in-ten adults say they have used an online dating site or app, and a bulk (57%) of those users say their experiences with online dating were positive. Most too say it was easy to find people they were physically attracted to and who shared their hobbies and interests.

Online dating isn't the only manner Americans are using the cyberspace to help them navigate the dating scene. Nigh four-in-x adults (38%) say they have searched for information online about someone they were romantically interested in. This is especially common among young adults: 64% of those younger than age 30 say they have washed this.

Half of unmarried adults – and a majority of unmarried women – are not on the dating market place

Half of singles are not looking for relationship or datesFully one-half of single adults say they are not currently looking for a relationship or dates. Amidst those who are on the dating market, near half are open to either a committed human relationship or casual dates.

Single men are far more likely than single women to be looking for a relationship or dates – 61% vs. 38%. This gender gap is specially apparent amidst older singles.

Among singles who are not looking to date, having more than important priorities right now and merely enjoying the single life are amid the about common reasons cited. Not-daters younger than historic period 50 are particularly likely to say they have more important priorities at the moment.

Defining who is partnered, who is single and who is a 'dater'