Contributed by: kellyseal on Tuesday, April 02 2024 @ 08:13 am
Last modified on Tuesday, April 02 2024 @ 08:18 am
LinkedIn is having a moment with romance. In a recent study, more than half of singles are turning to the career networking platform to find dates.
According to Dating News, a majority of 61 percent of singles aged 35 to 40 found dates on LinkedIn. Overall, 52 percent of all respondents ages 20 to 40 have found their dates on the business networking platform, highlighting its unexpected new role.
Interestingly, the second-best way that people say they are finding dates (48 percent) is through being set up on blind dates. Only 45 percent of respondents reported finding luck on online dating sites in comparison.
Older daters are more apt to have successfully met people via dating sites – half of respondents between 35 and 40 years old said they have met people on dating sites compared to only 33 percent of people between 20 and 24 years old, according to Dating News[*1] . Gen Z appears more open to meeting people outside of dating sites than Millennials, who came of age when dating apps launched and tend to gravitate to those platforms.
As a result, younger daters are turning more often to non-dating platforms like LinkedIn to meet people for dating. In fact, thirty-three percent of those ages 20 to 24 have even used fitness apps to set up a date.
Respondents indicated they have had luck meeting people more organically, with about 45 percent at social events, 40 percent at bars or clubs, 33 percent at work events, and 31 percent at gyms or fitness centers, in comparison to only 24 percent through other social media apps (outside of online dating).
And if you need inspiration, 33 percent of respondents said they found love in unexpected places. For example, some had luck with meeting people while commuting – whether it’s at the airport waiting for a plane or while riding the subway.
Dating News noted the preference for face-to-face contact in making connection: “Meeting someone in person is promising because you get to see what the other person looks like and gauge how much of a connection you have. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of eye contact, a smile, and a comment on something relevant, such as a cool T-shirt someone is wearing.”
Interestingly, a study in China found young people turning to dating app Tinder to find jobs, showing that social platforms in general are becoming useful for making different kinds of connections, and Gen Z youth aren’t limiting themselves to what the platforms were originally intended for.
Dating News commissioned a survey of 505 consumers aged 20 to 40 in the US who are currently dating to establish which ways of meeting, if any, they have used to arrange a date with someone.