You might think you’re a bit of a freak when it comes to love, but the statistics prove that plenty of us are all in the same boat. Here’s a look at modern dating by the numbers:
- You swipe for over an hour on Tinder daily. If you think Tinder might be for more than just hook-ups (the jury is still out), you might be spending a ton of time on the popular dating app every day. According to The Huffington Post, people are swiping left and right for 77 minutes daily.
- You look for love online when the weather’s terrible. Super bored when you’re stuck home for the entire weekend thanks to the snow? You’re probably checking out your online dating profile, especially if you live in New York. Apparently people send just over 50 percent more messages when it snows in NYC than they would on a normal day.
- You don’t meet everyone you talk to. Online dating can be super frustrating, especially when you spend tons of time sending messages that get ignored or even striking up a convo that ends up going absolutely nowhere. You’re experiencing exactly what everyone else is: only 66 percent of those on dating websites go on physical dates.
- You only need a few minutes. Ever figured out within the first five minutes of a first date whether you want a second? You’re in good company. A study from Stanford University proves that it only takes four minutes to know if you like someone. The researches looked at 1,000 dates and even found that women are much pickier about seeing someone again.
- Texting is a popular forum for asking people out. One survey proves that 30 percent who answered have no issues asking someone out via text message. So the next time a guy texts you “Want to grab a drink?” you can be sure that he’s totally normal and feel free to say yes.
- Being single is normal. You already knew that, of course, but now there are the stats to back it up. In 2014, 64 percent of Americans who were surveyed by Gallup were single, so you’re definitely not alone.
- Nobody knows if they’re actually dating. A joint study done by dating sites JDate and Christian Mingle found that 66 percent aren’t sure whether they’re on a date. That definitely makes sense since you’ve definitely wondered if the guy you were with thought you were on a real date or just kinda hanging out.
- Online dating is massive. Wonder how much all that swiping and messaging and wondering if someone is as cute as their picture is worth? That would be a $1.5 billion plus industry. Apparently around 30-40 million people living in Canada and the U.S. have online dating accounts. Whoa.
- Most people still believe The One is out there. If you’re a hopeless romantic, you’re in luck: lots of other people are, too. In 2011, a survey found that 73 percent of Americans believe there really is one romantic partner out there for everyone.
So there you go. Whether you swipe every day or meet people the old-school way, you can be sure of one thing: however you date is totally and completely normal
