Statistics

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

First dates are kind of a big deal, so of course questions about them were front-and-center in the Singles In America study. Based on the data, dating is in a place that few would have believed years ago. 92% of men now say they're perfectly comfortable with a woman asking them out (yay!), and only 25% of men say they want to plan the first date themselves. Ladies: time to step up your game.

Oh, and it's also time to step up your online stalking game. 47% of singles research their dates on Facebook before meeting (which could explain why 32% of singles ask for the first and last name when asking someone out). Women are the bigger offenders, with 53% percent conducting a bit of pre-date online research compared to 38% of men.

During the date, men and women take different approaches to attraction. Men are more likely to believe in love at first sight (43% of men vs 32% of women), while women are more likely to later fall in love with someone they didn't initially feel a spark with (53% of women vs 40% of men).

Here are a few important things to keep in mind while you're on that first date:

• Don't talk about exes. 72% of singles say it's the #1 conversational offense on a date, followed by politics (62%) and religion (54%).
• 92% of singles drink on a first date, so don't be afraid to imbibe...but don't go overboard.
• 60% check their phones at least once, even though both men and women consider it rude.
• 35% of men and 27% of women believe that the man should pay for the first date, regardless of who asked for the date in the first place.
• Women are more likely to judge a man by his attire than his car.
• Men are more likely to judge a woman by her tattoos than her shoes.
• A first date can be judged by how long it lasts. 52% of singles think a good first date should be between 2-4 hours.

And what happens after that first date?

• Single men are 5x more likely to hope it ends in sex.
• 51% of singles are already imagining their future together.
• 46% of men and 35% of women follow-up the next day (ideally by phone, though text is a close second). Only 6% of men abide by the "Three Day Rule."

For more on the dating site which conducted this survey you can read our Match.com review.

According to a new study, 50% of couples will have met online by the year 2031.

As it stands, roughly a third of married couples today have met online, and the numbers keep growing. New research by eHarmony found that in the near future 38% of couples will have met online or through a matchmaking service, and by 2040, about 7 in 10 couples will have met online.

People seem to be pulling away from meeting people at bars or parties and instead looking to a bigger pool of candidates online. The research shows that more people have access to the Internet, especially with the rise in popularity of smartphones, which has led to more people taking advantage of online dating services and apps. Internet usage in general has doubled in the past decade among those aged 18-64, from about 43% to 88%. More than half of online daters use smartphones to interact with their matches and online dating services.

According to eHarmony's study, those aged 55 to 64 are expected to have the biggest online dating boom, with a 30 percent increase between 2013 and 2030 - from 1.87 million to 2.41 million.

Romain Bertrand, marketing director of eHarmony, told the U.K.'s Daily Mail: "In the decades to come, online dating will not only be an efficient way to meet a partner, but will be by far and away the most common way that couples meet and initially communicate. One of the most significant developments we've seen at eHarmony is a substantial increase in the number of people who access our site on a smartphone or tablet device, which now stands at about half of all our members."

Part of the growing popularity of online dating stems from the fact that fewer people are meeting potential long-term partners through work or school. Since 2007, the number of couples who met through work or school has dropped from 18% to 12%. One explanation for this could be the rise of smart phones and dating apps like Tinder, which are easy to use and provide a convenient and fast way to meet new people. Young daters aren't necessarily ready to get involved in a serious relationship while they are in school, so online dating provides a viable way to meet people after they leave campus.

As for those who meet at work, there is a risk involved, especially if the company has a no-go policy on workplace relationships. Also, it's a lot more appealing to get involved with an online date than with a co-worker you will still have to see every day should things go badly. Online dating provides more options.

According to a recent study aiming to find the most desirable single in 2014, you'll have the most luck if you're 25 years old and rich.

The study pooled information from about 81,000 singles between the ages of 25-35 on the dating website Plenty of Fish, along with about 1.8 million messages to see what traits were the most desirable in both men and women who are online dating.

For both sexes, men and women in their twenties received more messages than those in their thirties. Women who were between 25 and 26 years old received the most messages, with a sharp decline once they turned 33.

It seems that both men and women prefer singles who make money. Women who earned between $50,000-$75,000 and men who earned between $75,000-$150,000 attracted more prospective dates than those earning less. And men who have law degrees are also likely to be the most successful in garnering attention online, with 33% more messages than the average single guy.

While data like this paints a certain picture of online dating, it's good to keep in mind that this is information gathered from only one online dating site and from just one demographic. If we were to look at online dating as a whole, the fastest-growing segment is singles over 50. And many people prefer paid dating sites like Match.com or eHarmony because daters tend to be more serious if they buy a subscription.

Free dating sites have always skewed younger, because many young daters aren't interested in serious relationships and want a chance to meet a lot of people. Paid dating sites tend to attract users of all ages who are on different levels of the dating spectrum - from casual to marriage-minded.

Twenty-somethings are also gravitating towards dating apps rather than online dating sites. Apps like Tinder, Hinge, and Are You Interested have been on the rise, mostly because of the ease of creating a profile and meeting people immediately, whereas most online dating sites require a little more effort and time before you're meeting each other face-to-face.

So while the POF study might feed into the stereotypes that persist about online dating (that singles prefer if you're young, earn a lot of money, etc.) - there are in reality a wide variety of singles who are online dating. Don't be afraid to explore a number of dating sites and see which one works best for you. This is the best time of year to do it, since more people than ever are online dating!

Trust PlentyOfFish to come up with a headline as provocative as "New Research Study: The Most Desirable Singles Of 2014." They certainly have a flair for drama, I'll give them that. And I couldn't help taking the bait...I'll give them that, too.

POF wondered who was getting the most attention on the site, so they deployed their research team to analyze the messaging data from over 81,000 user profiles and 1.8 million messages among the 25 to 35 age group. Their mission was to uncover the leading indicators determine whether a user is more or less likely to receive a message. The good news is: the study actually has some good news.

"Women are no longer interested in the bad boy who doesn't want to settle down," the study reports, "and men are increasingly seeking out educated women who are financially independent." Good news, indeed. On the other hand, gender roles are still firmly intact: "women still place high importance on a man's income and men still give precedence to a woman's age and body size." Not such good news, but there's always hope for change.

Key findings from the study include:

• Women between the ages of 25 and 26, receive 14.4% more messages.
• Women who are 33 years old receive the fewest number of messages.
• Women who have a graduate degree receive 6.45% more messages.
• Women who are Catholic receive 20% more messages.
• Men who earn between $100,000 and $150,000/year receive 42% more messages.
• Men with doctorate degrees receive 33% more messages.
• Men who want children receive 23% more messages.
• Those who 'Prefer Not to Say' if they want children receive 21% fewer messages, and those who "Don't want children" receive 42% fewer messages.

Put it altogether, and you've got a pretty clear picture of the ideal man and woman for 2014. The ideal woman is Catholic, thin and 25 years old. She has earned a graduate degree of some kind. She is a dog owner who drinks often or socially. And she has been in a relationship for at least 3 years, but not longer than 8 years.

The ideal man for 2014 is Christian with brown hair and an athletic build. He has earned a doctorate degree and now makes between $100,000 and $150,000 per year. And, perhaps most importantly, he is actively looking for a relationship.

Much to my surprise, I'm finding myself unexpectedly un-offended by the findings. I was expecting completely unachievable standards...instead what I got was a bar that's set high, but doesn't feel completely impossible. Is the study crazy? Am I?

To find out more about this dating site you can read our Plenty of Fish review.

eHarmony's very first marriage was John and Vicki Vystrcil, from Frisco, TX. The pioneering couple was married in 2001 and they've been going strong ever since. With more than a decade of experience and a track record like that, it's safe to say that eHarmony knows a thing or two about holy matrimony.

If tying the knot is on your resolutions list this year, sandwiched between spending less time staring at your phone and more time on the StairMaster at the gym, eHarmony has released a few key insights gathered during its decade+ history. eHarmony asked its married couples to detail their experience with the service in a recent study and compiled their responses into a report. The report, called eHarmony Married Couples by the Numbers Facts, asked important questions about the online dating experience:

How long does it take to meet your spouse on eHarmony?

• 71% of women meet their spouse within a year
• 69% of men meet their spouse within a year

How long does it take from when you are matched when you marry?

• The median time from when people are matched to when they marry is 1.8 years

How far apart do you live?

• The median distance at the time couples were matched was 20.2 miles

Who initiates communication first?

• 53% of the time, men initiated the first communication
• However, women become more likely to initiate communication as they get older
• Women in their 70s initiated the first communication 55.8% of the time

What's the age difference?

• On average, husbands are 2.39 years older than their wives

What's the education level?

• More than 70% of women and men are college educated or higher

This year, eHarmony has something special in mind to celebrate its successful matches. The dating service plans to bring seven of the more than 600,000 married couples who found love on the site to be part of its float entitled Everlasting Love in the 2014 Tournament of Roses Parade. The couples chosen to showcase their love and inspire others who are still searching for it will ride alongside the Grammy award-winning star Natalie Cole, as she sings her hit (and eHarmony commercial theme song) "This Will Be" down the parade route.

The Vystrcils will be joined on the float by other notable eHarmony couples, including a couple who married when they were 75 years old, a couple who appeared on an eHarmony commercial in 2012, and a couple who formed a real-life Brady Bunch.

The Super Bowl has come and gone. The bets have been paid out. The hot wings have been eaten. The hangovers have been nursed. New Yorkers can stop not caring about the Super Bowl and go back to not caring about the Super Bowl (wait a minute...).

As the nation recovers from Super Bowl XLVIII, there's one way America's biggest sporting event might still have an impact on your life. Zoosk crunched the numbers to find out how your chances of finding love online improve or decrease depending on whether your football team wins or loses.

During last year's Super Bowl, the number of messages sent between users was 17% less than the average Sunday evening. On non-mobile devices, there were 20% less messages sent than on average. And on mobile devices, 11% less messages were sent than average. What all that means is that online daters take the big game seriously - so seriously that it impacts their dating game.

Looking at activity in each of the cities that participated in conference championship games, Zoosk found:

• When your team wins, you spend Monday talking about football among friends and co-workers.
• When your team loses, you seek comfort in companionship and turn your attention to your love life.
• Denver users sent 15% less messages and view 32% less profiles than average on the Mondays after their playoff wins.
• Seattle users sent 51% less messages and view 60% less profiles than average on the Mondays after their playoff wins.
• San Francisco users sent 40% more messages and viewed 32% more profiles on the Monday after their loss to Seattle than on the Mondays following their playoff wins on Jan. 5 and Jan. 12.
• Boston users sent out 79% more messages and viewed 73% more profiles on the Monday after their loss to Denver than on the Monday against their playoff victory over Indianapolis.

That means, if the pattern continues, that folks in Seattle are currently way too busy celebrating their smashing victory to spare a thought for online dating. It's good news for football fans, but not such good news for singles.

On the other hand, Denver's bad luck on the football field might mean good luck for its daters. The Broncos may have lost, but their bummed-out supporters are more likely to turn to online dating to cheer themselves up. Nothing eases the pain of a loss like meeting someone special!