Here’s The Best Way To Meet An S.O.

It seems as though most of my millennial friends have the same general grievances; it’s either incredibly difficult to get a job or their job sucks, it’s hard to make new friends, we don’t really know where our lives are going, and, most often, it’s next to impossible to find a someone to date. Well, we might be having such a hard time finding romantic partners because we are looking in the wrong places — a new survey shows that the best way to meet a significant other is through friends, and not through an iPhone screen.

The Google Consumer Survey, conducted by Mic, used data from 2,373 people, ages 18 to 34. The most surprising finding was that most of the non-single respondents met their future partner in the real world, and not through one of the numerous dating apps or websites that many flock to. In fact, less than 10 percent of those surveyed met their significant other through a dating website or app. Most respondents, a whopping 38.6 percent, first met their partner through mutual friends. The second most popular way to meet a future boyfriend or girlfriend, according to 22 percent of respondents, is though a social setting. And even the third best way to meet a significant other doesn’t involve technology — it’s through meeting people at work.

And it makes sense that real life encounters are more likely to become relationships. Mic points out that there are fewer expectations when you meet someone in social setting. Neither or you are trying to live up to the persona that your snazzy profile picture or smooth pick up lines suggested. Rather, your connection can form more naturally, and it’s easier to see if sparks fly. Furthermore, meeting someone through friends is much more likely to lead to a romantic relationship than meeting someone through a Facebook friend based dating app (we’re looking at you, Hinge). A mutual friend is more likely to know both of you better than an app can, which means that the set up will be better, and sharing a social circle means that you two already have a lot in common.

Basically, the survey just confirms what we knew all along — that Tinder is really just a hook up app, and we need to stop with the Netflix marathons in order to actually leave our apartments and meet new people. If you are planning on making that bold change from sweatpants to skinny jeans this weekend, here is our ranking of the best and worst places to meet potential significant others:

1. At A Happy Hour

Bars are already great places to meet people, but happy hour also means that everyone will be less drunk, and likely in a great mood.

2. A Cultural Activity Or Class

That one Italian cooking class you wanted to take or that local festival that looks interesting? They are great places to meet likeminded people and their settings make it easy to start conversations with cute strangers.

3. On A Blind Date

Blind dates are ranked in the middle because they can go either way. Sure, I’ve been on some fun blind dates before, but I’ve been on some truly horrible ones as well.

4. On Public Transportation

Yes, we all see dreamy guys and girls on our work commutes all the time, but have you ever heard of a subway love story that actually worked out? Didn’t think so.

5. At A Club

This is never going to work out. The music is too loud to hear what they are saying, and you’ll have more fun with your girlfriends on the dance floor anyways.

Images: Sean and Lauren/Flickr, Giphy (3)