Single People Are More Interested in Emotional Maturity Than Looks

Match.com released its annual “Singles in America” study . . . and since we’re now 20 months into a pandemic, you can see how dating culture has shifted.  But it’s not all doom and gloom, some GOOD is coming out of it.

They surveyed 5,000 people between the ages of 18 and 100 . . . and here are 10 highlights to come out of this year’s report.

1.  More singles want “emotional maturity” (83%) in a partner over “physical attractiveness” (78%).  There’s not a HUGE separation there, but it’s a significant drop from the 90% who were looking for someone attractive last year.

2.  You don’t have to be close to be intimate.  50% of young singles are open to having a long-distance relationship.  But that’s about 20% more than singles overall, so long-distance is less appealing for older folks.

3.  Hookup culture has taken a big hit.  Only 11% of singles want to date casually.  62% say they’re more interested in finding a meaningful, committed relationship.

4.  Believe it or not, men (42%) are more ready to find a long-term romantic relationship than women (29%).

5.  And 81% say they now find sex LESS important than they did pre-pandemic.

6.  COVID-19 isn’t the end of the world.  74% of singles say the pandemic has not negatively affected their dating life.  But being vaccinated is key . . .

7.  65% of all singles want their dating partners to be vaccinated.  73% of singles ARE . . . and 80% of them require their partners to be as well.  Of all the age groups, Boomers are the most hardcore about vaccinations being necessary.

8.  This could be the enduring mark of the pandemic, and it sounds like a GOOD thing:  Half of young singles had a VIDEO date before meeting in person.  And 25% of singles overall had one.

71% say video chatting helped determine if they wanted to meet up in person, and 47% think it helps avoid a bad date.

9.  78% of single people have felt romantic chemistry during a video date.

10.  Seven in 10 people say they’re open to dating someone of different race or ethnicity.  That’s a 22% increase compared to before the pandemic.

(They put out a PREVIEW of the report last month.  You can revisit it, here.)