Relationships

Online dating company eharmony released a new study about dating in 2022, and despite the pandemic, found that most singles were optimistic about their prospects of finding love, and those in relationships were happy with their partners.

The Happiness Index study focused on how people are navigating dating and relationships in a post-pandemic world, and found that most singles - 76 percent – were optimistic about dating. The majority of those in relationships were satisfied, too, with 75 percent of U.S. couples saying they were happy in their relationships. Of those couples, 71 percent felt that having a romantic partner has positively affected their lives, and 55 percent said that their relationship has gotten stronger.

In addition to feeling more optimistic about their romantic lives, people are also gravitating away from alcohol after indulging during the pandemic. One in five people surveyed said they drank heavily during the lockdowns, and now, 74 percent of singles reported restricting their drinking in the last year. Twenty-one percent have considered not drinking at all. 

Dating apps are having a moment since the pandemic began, and new ones have launched this year that are expanding options for how to connect with others beyond just a swipe. 

Tinder and Bumble are by far the most popular apps, but many singles are looking for something different than your typical swiping experience that instead caters to social habits and lifestyles. Elle Magazine highlighted a few new apps to watch in their latest dating app round up, including some noteworthy ones that are following post-pandemic dating needs:

Dating app Bumble has been urging states to pass bills similar to the one it initiated in Texas, which makes it illegal for people to send unsolicited nude photos electronically. In mid-April, Virginia passed such a bill into law.

According to the new law, any adult sending an unsolicited “intimate image” electronically to another adult could be fined up to $500. The law defines intimate image as a “photo, film, video, recording, digital picture or other visual reproduction of a person 18 years of age or older who is in a state of undress so as to expose the human male or female genitals.”  

USA Today spoke with Bumble about how company's head of public policy for the Americas, Payton Iheme, reached out to Virginia Senator Jennifer McClellan for help with the legislation, since the company had success a few years ago passing a similar bill in Texas. The Virginia Senate had voted down another lewd photos bill two years before that carried criminal penalties, but since the new bill introduced civil penalties only, lawmakers felt more comfortable passing it into law.

Seventy percent of American singles felt that dating got harder during the pandemic, according to the latest research from Pew.

In 2019, before the pandemic took hold, about two thirds of singles said that dating was hard, compared to the new Pew study which took place February 2022, where roughly seven in ten singles said it was hard. 

This finding comes on the heels of the most profitable couple of years for the dating app industry, as people locked down at home and turned to dating apps for connection. Subscriptions and revenue rose for many dating app companies, but daters seem to be left wanting more.

Match Group and Visible are teaming up to offer a Singles Registry where users can sign up to receive and send gifts to the single people in their lives. 

The announcement comes as we head into wedding season, a time when singles are often buying gifts for others and not celebrating their own lives. Match Group and the Verizon-owned digital wireless carrier wanted to spread the love (and gifts) a little more, at least for a limited time. The registry will be live from April 4ththrough the 30th.

The website the partners set up is VisibleSinglesRegistry.com, and is open to everyone, not just Match Group app users. When you sign up you can build your own wish list from a curated menu of items, including “Mine” and “Also Mine” tea towels, single serve coffee machines, wine glasses and kitchenware, a “pamper yourself” spa kit, premium memberships to Tinder, Plenty of Fish and OkCupid, and even a foldable one-person kayak for those that like adventure.

If you are a climate change denier, you are likely to find yourself without a date according to a recent study by dating app OkCupid.

The company surveyed 250,000 of its users worldwide and found that 90 percent said it was important their match care about climate change, and it’s the biggest deal-breaker for dating app users. The issue topped both gun violence and gender equality for respondents. This further confirms the company’s surveys over the past three years of over 6 million of its users, where OkCupid found that overall, 81 percent were concerned about climate change.

In fact, according to OkCupid, climate change and environment questions generate 7.5 million responses worldwide, and is the issue where men's and women's views align more than any other.