With a new dating app being announced on what feels like a daily basis, it's easy to think that everyone is swiping, chatting, and meeting through their phones these days. But a new YouGov survey showed that meeting someone in real life is still the more desirable option for singles. And it makes sense, because meeting IRL gives you an instant sense of someone — whereas you can waste a lot of time chatting to a person online who you end up having zero chemistry with in real life. If nothing else, meeting someone in person can feel like a time-saver.
"The biggest advantage to meeting potential dates in real life is getting to experience their vibe right away, which is something no online dating platform can deliver," Thomas Edwards, founder of The Professional Wingman, tells Bustle. "This increases your odds of making good choices on who to go on a date with. There's no better way to gauge attraction and chemistry than to be physically present with someone."
So how popular is it? The survey look at over 1,100 U.S. adults and found that people preferred more traditional meetings — 27 percent saying they'd like to meet someone organically or by chance and 23 percent saying they'd like to be set up by someone they know. Only 12 percent said they'd like to meet their next partner through a dating app, while six percent that they thought work was the best way to meet someone new.
"The best real-life situations are ones you already regularly experience," says Edwards. "From the moment you wake up until when you go to sleep, there are countless opportunities for you to meet someone — taking public transportation, at the coffee shop, at work, the bookstore, out at lunch, in the gym, at the bar for happy hour, getting groceries — the list goes on. All you have to do is take advantage of the opportunities that are already there." So maybe IRL dating really is the way forward.
But that wasn't the only thing the YouGov survey found — here's what else people said about how their romance blossoms (or doesn't') today.
1
Nearly 1/3 Of People Weren't Interested In Dating — At All
Firstly, not everyone who's single is looking. Lots of folks are totally happy being — and staying — single. A huge 32 percent of respondents said they were straight up not interested in dating right now.
2
Almost 10% Of Blind Daters Are Still With Someone They Met On A Blind Date
Only 28 percent of people had been set up on blind dates but, out of those, nine percent are still with that person. That makes blind dates seem pretty damn effective.
3
Most People Who Are Set Up Are Introduced By A Friend
When it comes to being set up, it's normally a friend who does it. Fifty-sex percent of people who had been set up said it happened through a friend introducing them, 17 percent said it was a family member, and for 13 percent, it was a coworker.
4
1/5 Think That Their Friends And Families Are Too Involved In Their Dating Life
Not everybody likes getting the whole village involved. Twenty-one percent said they thought that their friend and family meddled too much in their personal matters.
5
30% Of Millennials Said They Wanted More Privacy
Interestingly, 30 percent of millennials who responded said they would like more privacy. But with technology keeping us so close, maybe it's not surprising. I mean, I regularly take a turn playing on my friends' Tinders and wreck havoc on their love lives. Horrible for them, but super entertaining for me.
The great news for singles who want to meet someone? There are so many ways to meet people today. If online dating isn't your thing, it's really NBD. It seems like no matter how much of a hold technology and dating apps take, there will always be people who prefer the old-fashioned way of meeting people.
