Statistics

The average American spends over $120,000 over his or her lifetime on dating, according to a new study. Not surprisingly, seventy percent of daters think that dating is too expensive.

Online banking company Simple.com partnered with OnePoll to survey 2,000 Americans about their expenses when it comes to dating and found on average it costs people $168.17 per month. According to Fox News, they also discovered that dating expenses actually increase once the couple gets married – on average to $185.65 per month - because they want to do things to “keep the spark alive,” according to the report.

Plus-sized daters are feeling more positive about finding love with dating apps, according to a new study by dating app WooPlus.

The company conducted a survey of its 3 million users to find out what they think of the body positivity movement, which has become extremely popular thanks to outspoken stars like Lizzo, Ashley Graham and Tess Holiday, who have brought attention to the cause. These celebrities have been instrumental in shining a light on the problem of fat-shaming by encouraging people to embrace their curves and recognize their own beauty in all aspects of their lives – including their love lives.

Match’s Singles in America survey, now in its ninth year, is the nation's largest and most comprehensive annual scientific study of single men and women across the United States. This year, Match polled over 5,000 singles about their current attitudes around sex and dating, the their response to the #MeToo movement, and how singles of all ages are changing the way they look for love.

"Modern love, sex and romance are thriving in America—from Millennials to seniors. The current fear that the young don’t care about love and commitment is just plain wrong. They are simply having a hard time finding it and feeling burnt out by the search,” says Dr. Helen Fisher, biological anthropologist and Chief Science Advisor to Match. “Moreover, this year’s Singles in America study gives a first-of-its-kind look at the positive impact the #MeToo movement has had on single men — on dates and in the office.”

Singles still want love and they’re optimistic about their chances of finding it. According to the survey:

In big news for the dating app industry – Democratic Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg met his husband on Hinge. And after his public remarks praising the dating app, it seems Hinge has also seen a spike in gay users.

Fortune reported that the app has seen a 30 percent increase in gay memberships since April 1^st, around the time the rising star mayor of South Bend Indiana disclosed he used the app and ended up meeting his husband Chasten on it.

“We’re proud of all of the relationships we’ve helped set up — including Mayor Pete and Chasten,” Hinge CEO Justin McLeod told Fortune. “We’re happy to see that their love story has encouraged even more members of the LGBTQ community to find their person on Hinge.”

There’s always a risk when a couple gets married – a common statistic people have cited is that when you get married, there’s a 50 percent chance you’ll get divorced. However, recent data points to changing times and changing attitudes towards marriage. According to a new study, divorce rates have plummeted - thanks in large part to Millennials.

A study by Maryland sociology professor Philip Cohen, who analyzed U.S. Census data from about 3.5 million households, shows that the divorce rate in America has plummeted 18 percent from 2008 to 2016. He credits Millennial women with the decline, as on average, they have waited past the age of 25 to marry, and are more likely to have already earned a Bachelor’s degree by the time they tie the knot.

The study also found that people ages 35 to 44 – Generation X included - were also less likely to divorce now than they were in 2008.

Dating app Bumble is on a mission to help empower women, including partnering with women’s health provider Planned Parenthood to educate college students at the University of Texas, Austin, about consent.

According to experts, the term "consent" as it applies to sexual relationships is often misunderstood, and silence does not imply that your partner wants to be intimate. Consent should instead be “Freely given, Reversible, Informed, Enthusiastic, and Specific” – the FRIES acronym that sex educators use to provide a basic definition of what consent is.

College campuses have come under fire recently for their handling of sexual assault and harassment cases among students. Traditionally, administrators have opted for leniency towards offenders when it’s a he said/ she said scenario (which sexual assault cases often are), allowing the perpetrators to continue attending classes without prosecution, expulsion, or even further investigation. This puts more students, and especially women, at risk.