Over the last decade or so, the public perception of online dating has shifted from being a bit odd to something that’s pretty normal. But even as people get used to surfing the web as they look for a potential date, there’s a new trend emerging: location aware, mobile dating services. Skout, a social dating service with a strong mobile component, decided to conduct a study to see how hesitant people are to make the move from mobile messaging to in-person meetups.
The company surveyed 1000 of its users 20-30 years old, with an even gender split. While everyone surveyed was a Skout user, the questions pertained to any mobile dating service. Now, obviously these stats don’t readily apply to the general public — everyone surveyed is already a Skout user, so they’re more likely than average to be inclined to use a mobile dating site. Here are some of the conclusions Skout came up with:
51 percent of the consumers surveyed have met another single person in the Real World that they initiated contact with on their iPhone. The survey findings show that:
- 69 percent are comfortable meeting up with someone they met on their iPhone
- 40 percent are using a mobile dating service while out in bars, clubs and restaurants
- 20 percent are only using the service outside of their homes
- 35 percent are using the service at work
The company also concluded that most people would rather be dating than hanging out with their families during the holidays (which is kind of sad):
- 29 percent of the surveyed consumers would prioritize spending time with family
- 36 percent would prefer going on “a date or two”
- 20 percent would prefer at least one “hook-up” and a few dates
- 15 percent would prefer multiple “hook-ups” and dates before the Holidays are over
Finally, in a strange twist, 20% of those surveyed already had a significant other. Half of them were participating on these social dating sites with their partner’s consent (huh?) and the other half were doing it behind their back. Of course, there are probably a good number of folks who lied on this question — I suspect the number of people who are secretly using these services is actually higher.