OkCupid Users Weigh in on What Dating in 2021 Looks Like

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A new study by dating app OkCupid found that politics and the pandemic are the two biggest forces shaping the dating experience, giving us a clue about what dating will look like in 2021.

The company surveyed two million of its users to find out how 2020 is shaping their view of dating, and what if anything has changed. According to Mashable, OkCupid published its Future of Dating report based on its analysis of 450 million responses they received from these users. The biggest impact on dating has been political engagement and polarization – notably in an important election year. A majority of 64% of respondents said they preferred to date someone who shared their political views, up from previous years when politics did not play such a major factor in deciding whether or not to date someone. In fact, this number jumped 7% since 2019, and 60% of respondents said they wouldn’t even consider dating someone with opposing political views.

People were more engaged with specific issues too, including racial justice and climate change, and were looking for like-minded matches. In fact, 85% of millennials and 84% of Gen Z respondents were concerned about the climate crisis, and this factored into who they were willing to date.

Another finding was the profound impact that the pandemic has had on dating, and more specifically, dating practices. Around 84,000 people said they thought it was important to have an emotional connection before a physical one, an indicator that people are taking things slowly because of the risk of meeting new people. Many dating apps have rushed to provide virtual chat features as people have isolated over the months and prefer a virtual date ahead of meeting someone in person, or in some cases, in place of face-to-face dates. 

For those who crave an in-person meeting, outdoor activities are the most popular. Fifty-nine percent said the pandemic has made them more motivated for future dates, and preferred outdoor activities like a social distance hike, picnic, or run in the park as an option.

The lockdowns and political environment have broadened peoples’ ideas about who they’d like to date, too. More than 1.5 million said they were open to a long-distance relationship and the highest number of users ever have set their location preferences to “anywhere.” 

Respondents were 15% more likely to connect with someone of a different religion and 10% more likely to date someone of a different race compared to before the pandemic.

The biggest change was the overwhelming majority of respondents – 89% - who felt that people should live together before considering marriage. The pandemic played a role, as more than one million respondents said they don’t like living alone. As singles went into lockdown this became apparent, with many nabbing quarantine partners to avoid being alone. 

For more on the dating service that created this study you can read our OkCupid review.