With Valentine’s Day around the corner, single Americans have a range of hopes when it comes to their romantic lives. Some dream of serious relationships, some are looking for casual dates and some are avoiding dating altogether. Here are five findings about single Americans, based on a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted July 5-17, 2022.
1. Roughly six-in-ten young men report being single. Overall, three-in-ten U.S. adults are single, meaning they are not married, living with a partner or in a committed romantic relationship. This share has not changed since the Center asked this question in 2019.
Some age groups have a higher share of singles than others. Adults under 30 are the most likely age group to be single, with roughly half (47%) falling into this category. In contrast, 30- to 49-year-olds are the least likely to be single (21%). About three-in-ten adults ages 50 to 64 or 65 and older say they are single.
2. The majority of single adults are not interested in being struck (or even grazed) by Cupid’s arrow. Among Americans who are single, the largest share – 57% – say they are not currently looking for a relationship or casual dates. (In a February 2022 Center survey, single adults who were not looking for a relationship or dates identified a variety of reasons as to why, but enjoying being single and having other priorities topped the list.)
Even among adults who are “single and looking,” not everyone is interested in the same type of relationship. Roughly one-in-five single adults (22%) say they are open to either a committed relationship or casual dates, while 13% say they are only looking for a committed relationship and 7% are only looking for casual dates. In total, 42% of single Americans are looking for some kind of romance.
Single men are more likely than their female counterparts to be searching for romantic experiences. Half of these men are looking for a committed relationship and/or casual dates, while 35% of single women say the same.
3. The percentage of single Americans who are looking for a relationship or casual dates is lower than in 2019, especially among men. Some 42% of single Americans say they’re looking for a committed romantic relationship and/or casual dates, down from 49% in 2019 (but similar to the proportion found in the Center’s February 2022 survey).
4. The type of relationship single Americans are looking for varies by gender. Among singles who are on the dating market, about half (51%) say they are open to either a committed relationship or casual dates. Looking at those who are only open to one of these options, daters are more likely to be exclusively looking for a committed relationship over casual dates only (31% vs. 17%).
5. Nearly half of single-and-looking adults have turned to online dating in the past year. Some 45% of single Americans who are searching for a relationship and/or casual dates have used an online dating platform within the past year, including those who were on one currently as of the July 2022 survey.
Younger single-and-looking adults are more likely than their older counterparts to have used a dating site or app in this time period. Roughly half (53%) of adults under 50 who are single and looking have used an online dating platform recently, compared with about a quarter (26%) of single-and-looking adults 50 and older.
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