Studies

New claims are made about Millennials every day. “Millennials are lazy!” “Millennials still live with their parents!” “Millennials are entitled!” “Millennials will never save money!”

Thanks to a recent study conducted at Florida Atlantic University, a new provocative headline has joined the generational narrative: “Millennials aren’t having sex!”

The study found that 15% of Millennials aged 20 - 24 said they had no sexual partners since turning 18. That’s more than twice the number (6%) of GenX’ers born in the 1960s who said they’ve had no sexual partners as adults. The shift toward higher rates of sexual inactivity among Millennials was particularly pronounced among women, and absent among Black Americans and those with a college education.

Romantics chalk the perfect first date up to serendipity, or fate, or the machinations of a fat winged child with an arsenal of arrows. As for realists, they prefer to rely on science to explain the inexplicable.

If it sounds like a tall order - maybe too tall - you’re right. Research may never fully decode a phenomenon as complex as love, but that won’t stop scientists from trying. Countless studies and surveys have been devoted to unmasking the mysteries of love and attraction. Some are more credible than others, and all should be taken with an appropriate amount of salt, but their conclusions are intriguing food for thought.

The following studies have attempted to illuminate the art of the ideal first date.

Much has been written about the May-December romance. We call women who date older men gold diggers. We call men who date younger women sugar daddies. And let’s not forget about the cougars and their cubs.

There’s something about an age gap that both fascinates and repels us. EliteSingles recently conducted a study to find out why, and found that many of our stereotypes are based in fact.

The dating site analyzed the upper and lower age search limits of more than 450,000 of its members for the answer a burning question: what age difference would you accept in your partner?

The stereotype of older men seeking increasingly younger partners proved true. Men aged 60-69 indicated, on average, a desired partner age of up to 11 years younger than themselves. And the other end of the spectrum? Brace yourself: the oldest they would accept is a partner just 1 year their senior.

It stings for older women, but before the mature ladies completely lose faith in humanity, younger men throw a twist into the story. Guys aged up to 30 prefer to date women who are older, rather than younger. Between the ages of 20-29, many men indicate a preference for a partner 3-6 years older than themselves. 

EliteSingles Partner Psychologist Sam Owen believes that ‘’the finding that men aged 20-29 prefer older women rather than the suspected ‘younger model’ is likely indicative of the change in gender roles in modern society towards more equality between the sexes. Young men nowadays probably also recognise that older women are adept at diligently juggling so many responsibilities (career, children, housekeeping, fitness, finances, socialising), which makes them intriguing and attractive and a more secure option.’’

Women may not be as keen on playing the cougar as men are on playing the cub, however. The data from female users suggests that women across the board prefer to be the younger half of a relationship. Women over the age of 50, for example, would ideally like a match who is 6 years older than their own age. And there’s little wiggle room in the other direction - anyone more than 5 years younger is deemed too young.

Younger women not only echo the sentiment, they amplify the interest in older men. For 20-29 year olds, the average age difference desired was up to 10 years, while women aged 30-39 sought a partner up to 8 years older. Women in their twenties weren’t interested in men more than 3 years their junior.

For more information on this dating service which conducted the study you can read our Elite Singles review.

Dream of seducing a supermodel with your charming personality and fantastic sense of humor? You may be out of luck, and online dating is to blame. Recent studies suggest that dating sites and apps make it harder to land someone out of your league.

How often have you heard that “opposites attract?” How unique do you believe your preferences are? Research shows that both ideas are myths - preferences matter very little once people meet face to face, and compatible couples are more likely to be alike than different.

Studies repeatedly support the idea of “assortative mating,” which Priceonomics defines as “the hypothesis that people generally date and marry partners who are like them in terms of social class, educational background, race, personality, and, of course, attractiveness.” In other words, 10s date each other and a 2 doesn’t stand a chance with any of them.

Senior sex may be the butt of many a movie joke, but there’s nothing funny about it. An eye-opening study by the dating service Elite Singles of 2667 Americans has revealed the sexual behaviors of the elderly - and it turns out their early bedtimes aren’t just about getting more sleep.

The survey found that 91% of over-70s considered sex to be ‘important’ in a relationship, with 33% rating it as ‘very important’. And in contrast to what many believe about gender relations in the younger generations, it’s older women who are more enthusiastic about hitting the sack. Eighty-seven percent of women think the quality of sex improves with age and experience, compared to 77% of men.

In fact, according to the study, seniors over 70 have a higher desire for sex than singles aged 18-30. Celibacy was considered less acceptable for older singles than for younger ones. While 19% of respondents in the 18-30 range said they were ‘happy without sex in a relationship’, just 9% of seniors said the same.

The over-70s were also more accepting of casual sex. Seventy-five percent said there is no need to postpone sex until a solid relationship commitment is made, a sentiment shared by only 56% of younger singles. So not only are senior singles getting it on, they’re getting it on with fewer hang-ups than the supposedly free-spirited Millennials. They’re also enjoying themselves more - 81% said sex, like the proverbial wine, gets better with age.

But it’s not all about sex. Single seniors may have been around the block (more than once), but they haven’t lost faith in love. Even after break-up, separation, and divorce, 97% believe you can fall in love at any age and 62% say cupid’s arrow can strike at first sight. Superficial attraction remains important no matter what decade you’re in, with the face, chest, and hair being voted the top 3 most attractive features in an older person.

Psychologist Salama Marine weighed in on the results of the study. “People tend to feel uncomfortable with the idea of senior sexuality because it has nothing to do with reproduction; senior sex is purely about love and sexual fulfilment,” she said. “But in a society often too associated with youth, we tend to forget that there is no age limit to desire and eroticism. We must recognise that today’s seniors have lived through society's sexual liberalisation and enjoy the same sexual freedom as the rest of us.”

Time to get grandma on Elite Singles and grandpa taking shirtless selfies.

Are you a Trump supporter looking for love? PlentyOfFish has some bad news for you.

The dating site recently surveyed more then 4000 American singles over the age of 18 to examine how love lives can be affected by political affiliation. It’s often said that politics (along with religion and exes) is not a first-date discussion, and POF’s research confirms it.

According to the data, singles are hesitant about dating someone with drastically different political views than their own. Twenty-five percent steadfastly refused to do so and thirty-one percent said they are unsure if they would even attempt it. Cross “the U.S. election” off your list of conversation topics if you don’t want to rock the boat.