Dating Services

Match.com's Singles in America study, now in its fourth year, examines the attitudes and behaviors of over 5,300 American singles from all walks of life in order to get a glimpse into how love and relationships are viewed today.

Dating is many things, but cheap often isn't one of them. In fact, according to Match.com's 4th Annual Singles in America study, singles spend $82 billion on their dating lives. Spoiler alert: that's a lot of billions. To find out exactly where all of them are going, Match asked singles to break down their spending habits per month.

Traditional dating (think bars, sports, religious activities, entry fees, drinks, tickets, and food) looked something like this:

• Min: $0
• Max: $3,044
• Mean: $55.84

Modern dating (which includes online dating, matchmakers, speed dating, dating apps, and dating coaches) looks more like this:

• Min: $0
• Max: $1,250
• Mean: $5.69

So not only are online and mobile services making dating more convenient, they're also making it easier on our wallets. Score!

The total dating cost, when you add traditional and modern methods together, comes out to $61.53 per single per month. That means $738.36 a year per single, and when you multiply that by 111 million singles (a number that comes from the 2013 U.S. Census CPS data), you get the $82 billion figure. That's a hefty chunk of cash.

Wondering what we're spending it on? The top three date expenses for men are personal entertainment (like movie or concert tickets), dining or going out, and personal electronics. The top three date expenses for women are new outfits, dining or going out, and personal electronics. So even though online and mobile dating may be cheaper in the long run, the initial cost of the device is going to set you back a bit.

And here's a fun fact: Match.com has an especially interesting history where money matters are concerned. When the economy crashed in 2008, Match.com had its best quarter to date. "To have your best quarter in the worst economic times I think is an astounding realization," said Whitney Casey, a Match.com relationship expert. "Sometimes the first things to go are gym memberships because people have lost their jobs. But it seems the last thing to go from their budget is love."

Secretly we're all romantics at heart, it seems.

“They both swiped right. (For professional purposes, that is.)”

That’s how TIME describes the meeting of Sean Rad and Justin Mateen during the first semester of their freshman year at University of Southern California in 2004. At the time they were both working on their own businesses, but soon enough they joined forces and became co-founders of mobile dating’s most impressive success story so far: Tinder.

In just 17 months, Tinder has become a phenomenon. “For the uninitiated,” writes TIME, “Tinder is a smartphone app that at first seems like a higher tech version of ‘hot or not.’ Users are shown photos of nearby potential matches and can swipe right to ‘like’ and left for ‘nope.’” It's now getting 600 million swipes per day from its obsessive 18-24 year-old userbase, and landed two of its founding team on the Forbes 2013 “30 Under 30” list.

Why did it become so big, so fast? Because traditional dating sites require extended periods of time and attention spent filling out and browsing long profiles, and in our speedy modern era we no longer have time for that kind of commitment. Tinder can be played – because yes, it is a game – in short bursts on the go, making it the most convenient way to meet your match currently on the scene.

Tinder snagged TechCrunch’s Crunchie award for best new startup on February 10, 2014, an honor it fully deserved for its mind-boggling success in 2013. There's no doubt that Tinder is the hottest thing on the mobile market right now, but the question is: can it maintain its success in the future?

“Nobody joins Tinder because they’re looking for something,” Rad told TIME. “They join because they want to have fun. It doesn’t even matter if you match because swiping is so fun.” So with fun in mind, the Tinder team plans to extend their reach beyond dating. The plan is for the app to evolve into a social discovery service, one that’s useful for meeting people beyond the romantic context.

“You’ll be able to eventually interact with friends for other purposes,” Mateen said. “So even if you’re in a relationship you’re going to be able to find good value in Tinder in the coming months.” The problems encountered when connecting with someone new are universal, whether you’re meeting someone with romantic, professional, or friendly intentions, and Tinder hopes to help.

Other plans for the future of the app include an updated communication system that goes beyond text messaging and further international expansion.

Match.com's Singles in America study, now in its fourth year, examines the attitudes and behaviors of over 5,300 American singles from all walks of life in order to get a glimpse into how love and relationships are viewed today.

I don't need to tell you that cell phones have completely changed the way we relate to one another. And that goes double for dating. In fact, as much as we may want a committed relationship with someone else, the most committed "can't-live-without-you" relationships we ever have might be with our mobile phones.

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but you get the picture. We're pretty much inseparable from our devices. Match.com's fourth Annual Singles in America Study took a look at how the rules of dating etiquette have changed now that were stuck at the hip (or pocket or palm) with our smartphones. Whitney Casey, a Match.com relationship expert, suggests observing the following seven do's and don'ts when it comes to your cell and dating etiquette:

• Know thy self(ie). Most men report loving any kind of photos sent their way, whether sweet or sexy, but most women say sexy pics are a phone faux pas. 75% of women rank racy photos as their #1 foul, while 76% of men say it's their #1 form of phone foreplay.
• Save the slang. Emoticons are a-ok, but abbreviations are another story. Steer clear of slang that requires a Google search for decoding.
• Text timing is everything. As with the Great Selfie Debate, men and women disagree significantly on the ideal time for texting. 63% of women say they enjoy texting during work hours, but men prefer to stay focused on their jobs from 9-5. "Texting during work hours" ranked 2nd in the top three phone fouls for men.
• Be trained in text tempo. Cool your jets. Both men and women dislike it when you're too quick on the text message draw. Sending a second text before receiving a reply is a major no-no for everyone. Nearly 60% of men say it's their #1 phone foul, while women rank it in their top three.
• Cast a wide net. The more dates, the merrier! 72% of women say it's ok to casually date more than one person at the same time and 60% of men agree.
• Save the drama for your mama. 84% of women and 80% of men think using social media to air emotional drama or chronicle personal life details that are too personal is a huge turn off. Pause before you hit Post and think carefully before you select Send.
• Say hi with your eyes. Video chat is the next big thing. Nearly half of singles in their 20s are already using this trendy technology to keep in touch with their dates. Welcome to the future.

The horror-filled days of Halloween may only come once a year, but that doesn't mean fright fanatics can't get their creep on all year round. There are some seriously scary online dating sites (and I'm not just talking about Craigslist ax murderers). Check out these ridiculously specific niche online dating sites designed for your inner horror movie enthusiast:

Match.com's Singles in America study, now in its fourth year, examines the attitudes and behaviors of over 5,300 American singles from all walks of life in order to get a glimpse into how love and relationships are viewed today.

"U.S. singles most often have sex at night, don't want to know their partner's sexual history, have trouble deciding when to have sex with a new dating partner, and overall just want more sex," says Dr. Justin R. Garcia, PhD., Scientific Advisor at Match.com. "But why?"

That's the million-dollar question, one of the many questions Match.com tried to answer in the latest Singles in America study. A survey of what it means to be single would be incomplete without an examination of what it means to be single and sexual, because whether you're a new couple or have been married for half a century, sex is an important ingredient in almost every romantic relationship.

Research has shown that sexual satisfaction influences a huge range of outcomes, from one's happiness, to one's health, to the likelihood of a breakup. So what's the state of sexuality in America today? Match.com says:

• Singles want more sex. We probably didn't need a study to tell us that, but we got one anyway. 68% of single men and 57% of single women say they want more sex in 2014, although it may still be less sex than you're expecting. Most singles ideally would like to have sex 2 to 3 times per week - only 15% of single men 12% of single women would ideally have sex every day.
• We are all really confused about when we "should" have sex. Everyone is stressed out about when to take a new relationship to the next step. Nearly half of singles think it's only okay to have sex with a new partner once they've reached the 6th date. Men, on average, tend to count the number of dates (and observe totally idiosyncratic rules about which number it's appropriate to have sex on). Women, on the other hand, tend to rely on relationship milestones - such as a clear sign of commitment or exclusivity - to mark when it's okay to make things sexual.
• Some of us are keeping our number under wraps, but it's fewer than you might expect. 21% of women and 23% of men admit to altering their number of sexual partners (in either direction) when asked about it. Nearly half singles of both genders simply say they've don't want to know their partner's sexual history at all.
• Television is totally killing the vibe. 77% of men and 82% of women consider the TV a huge turn-off. In fact, it's the #2 sexual turn-off for women and the #1 sexual turn-off for men. Why? Because TV is hugely distracting, and satisfying sex doesn't happen when your attention is focused elsewhere.

We've all heard of dating apps like Tinder and Grindr, aimed at those who are single and not necessarily looking for anything long-term. But what about targeting a community of people who would rather form relationships than have a quick hook-up?

Ariella Furman, founder of dating app Wing Ma'am, saw a need that was missing among lesbian daters. When she moved from New York to Pittsburgh, she found it very hard to meet people outside of the bar scene. She wanted friendship as well as a relationship, but the dating apps that were available didn't really serve her needs. And many of the bars were focused on gay men clientele, rather than gay women. So she decided to create her own way of meeting new people.

It all started when she decided to host her own events every month so lesbians could meet each other for dating or friendship, and so they could form a more tightly knit community of support. When her RSVPs blew up to 4,000 attendees and bars were fighting to host the events, she decided to take it to the next level and develop her app Wing Ma'am. During the beta phase of the app, memberships grew to over 8,000. It launched in the iTunes store on January 23rd.

Part of the way Furman gets the word out is through volunteer sign-ups on the website and through the app. People are invited to share about Wing Ma'am over social media, or even by handing out flyers at local LGBT events, helping to grow the user base in each city.

The app has two components - a location-based matching system that helps you meet women nearby, but also a social component, where you can browse events going on in your area and see if there's something you want to attend. In this sense, the app more closely resembles HowAboutWe, because it is focused on the proposed activity as opposed to just pictures or a profile. Users are able to create their own events as well as browse at what's out there. For instance, if a user wanted to host a cocktail party or go to a concert, she could post the invite and see who RSVP'd.

"The attempts that were out there were very focused on hookups," Furman tells website Mashable. "Women tend to look for relationships."

The app is being used by lesbians who are in partnerships, too - especially ones who moved to a new city and are looking to form friendships based on interests rather than just meeting through the bar scene.

Since its launch, the largest user base for Wing Ma'am is in larger cities like Boston or New York. The app is currently only available for iPhone but will launch for Androids in the spring.