Result
Almost half of all citizens consider online dating a good way to meet other people. This view is particularly prevalent among 18- to 29-year-olds, who, as the primary target group, make particularly frequent use of the diverse opportunities offered by online dating.
Reasons
Professional obligations and an increasingly hectic daily life leave little room for traditional ways of meeting people. Online dating platforms offer a flexible and time-saving alternative that is gaining popularity and is accessible anytime, anywhere thanks to ubiquitous smartphones. The efficiency and convenience of these platforms make it quick and easy to select potential partners. At the same time, the social acceptance of online dating has increased, as evidenced, among other things, by the approximately twelve million active users currently on the market.
Online dating is valued for its greater selection, security, and control. Dating apps allow users to filter potential partners according to specific criteria, review profiles at their leisure, and communicate online before agreeing to a personal meeting.
In addition, constantly evolving matching technologies and algorithms improve the success rate. Specialized dating sites also focus on specific target groups – from Jdate for Jewish singles or Christian Mingle for Christian singles, to FarmersOnly for rural populations or Veggiedate for vegetarians, to PositiveSingles for people with sexually transmitted diseases or Uniform Dating for singles in formal attire.
Forecast
Studies show that online relationships last longer on average than offline relationships. Accordingly, the future of online dating can be considered very promising. Social acceptance will continue to increase, and artificial intelligence will further improve matching algorithms, thus increasing success rates. Despite these positive developments, it remains important to keep the challenges and risks in mind. Currently, for example, around 90 percent of all likes go to just ten percent of users. Conversely, this means that only ten percent of potential matches are available to 90 percent of all users. Elo scores, which measure user popularity and accordingly suggest only suitable matches, will provide a solution. However, the usage patterns of many singles also pose a threat to online dating. Many act rather superficially and unreliably, which increases frustration and disappointment for others and represents a danger to any online dating platform.
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