Better safe than sorry.
Around one in five people run background checks on their online dates before meeting them, a new survey says — but who has time for all that rigmarole? Some 38% of respondents say they simply “stalk” their first dates online instead.
The survey of 1,000 singles, conducted in December by the Thriving Center of Psychology, comes as 127 million adults report being unattached.
Despite an astounding 91% insisting they find solace in their independence, one in three admit they are not content as a singleton. Half confessed to missing physical connection, while others feel like they are being left in the dust by friends who are married or taken.
For some, the online dating pool is desolate — and they’ve flocked to local haunts in an attempt to meet someone the ol’ fashioned way.
Others aren’t so quick to give up their dating profiles just yet, spending their days swiping right on eligible candidates — but not with reckless abandon. The survey found that 51% of women creeped on their date online, while 25% of men acknowledged doing the same.
In fact, 29% of respondents claimed they’ve spent more than 20 minutes searching someone on the internet prior to meeting in person — and 49% believe doing so is “socially acceptable.”
According to the survey, 14% of respondents even said they’ve come clean to their date about Googling them, while 19% said a date has done the same.
Back in 2021, a TikToker advised that it’s smart to conduct a simple Google search before grabbing coffee, dinner or a drink: You never know who you’re going to meet.
Upon matching with a potential suitor on Hinge, the TikToker recalled, she impulsively searched his name before the date — only to discover the person was allegedly “arrested for aggravated kidnapping.”
About 35% of the survey’s participants revealed they do not feel safe when using dating apps, despite 67% of people claiming to have used them at one point. However, of those who have used platforms like Hinge, Bumble and Tinder, a staggering 69% despise the apps.
As dating apps have evolved, creators have made it easier to ensure a date’s identity and the user’s own safety. Tinder, for one, added a background check feature to its platform in 2021.
Singles aren’t just worried about catfishes, scammers or the occasional criminal — survey respondents are also concerned about the rising cost of dinner dates and the seemingly impossible reality of finding their perfect match online.
Three of four respondents say it’s difficult to find the one via dating apps, the survey reported, and 56% say it’s more challenging now than ever before. Around 35% of those polled claim they’ve actually gone on fewer dates due to inflation.
But nearly half are afraid of being alone forever, and 30% say they still go on dates to feel less lonely — only for 31% of daters to end up feeling lonelier after they come home.
“Being single can be a mixture of freedom and frustration all at the same time,” the survey authors wrote. “It’s okay to feel a combination of emotions if you have not found a significant other. Just know that you’re not alone in this journey and that hundreds of thousands of others are navigating the dating world too.”
