The rate of Americans using online dating or mobile dating apps is on the rise.
About 15% of all adults in the U.S. said they use online dating and mobile dating apps, according to the Pew Research Center, in a report released Thursday (and just in time for Valentine’s Day). Interestingly, that number is up from the 11% who said they used dating websites and apps in 2013.
Pew’s survey was conducted from June 10 to July 12, 2015 and surveyed 2,001 adults.
Among the results, a couple of trends emerged. The number of 18- to 24-year-olds who said they’ve dated online has almost tripled over the last two years with 27% of the group saying they’ve tried it. Just 10% said they used online dating sites and apps in 2013. In addition, the number of 55- to 64-year-olds who admitted to using online dating services doubled from 6% in 2013 to 12% in 2015.
According to Pew:
For young adults in particular, this overall increase in online dating usage has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in the use of mobile dating apps. Fully 22% of 18- to 24-year-olds now report using mobile dating apps, a more than fourfold increase from the 5% who reported using dating apps in 2013. These young adults are now more likely than any other age group to use mobile dating apps.
Meanwhile, a larger number of people than just 15% say that they know someone who’s used either an online dating app or mobile dating app, according to Pew. “Some 41% of American adults say they know someone who uses online dating, while 29% indicate they know someone who has married or entered into a long-term partnership with someone they met via online dating,” according to the report.