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Online dating can help people meet romantic partners, but it does not guarantee a relationship—and people’s experiences vary. In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2022, 30% of U.S. adults said they had ever used a dating site or app. One in 10 partnered adults said they met their current partner online; among partnered adults under 30, the figure was 20%.
How common is online dating, and do people meet partners this way?
Online dating is one route to meeting someone, not a promise of finding a long-term partner. Pew Research Center found that 30% of U.S. adults had ever used a dating site or app. Among adults who were partnered, 10% said they met their current partner through one. For partnered adults under 30, that share was 20%.
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These are self-reported findings from a survey conducted July 5–17, 2022, and published February 2, 2023. They describe respondents’ past experiences, not the likelihood that a particular person will find a partner or the current popularity of any service. Read Pew Research Center’s report on online dating in the U.S.
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What do users say about the experience?
Responses were mixed: 53% of online dating users described their experience as at least somewhat positive, while 46% called it very or somewhat negative. Those figures capture users’ overall assessments; they do not establish why experiences differed or whether using a dating service caused a particular outcome.
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Online dating can also involve unwelcome conduct. In Pew’s survey, 48% of users said they had experienced at least one of four behaviors: receiving unwanted sexual content, being contacted repeatedly after declining, being called an offensive name, or being threatened with physical harm. The finding covers one or more of those experiences; it does not mean all users encountered every behavior.
How should you choose a dating service?
A service’s name or popularity alone cannot tell you whether it suits your goals. Pew measured whether respondents had ever used several services, but did not compare current features, prices, safety performance, or relationship outcomes. Among people who had ever used online dating, 46% said they had used Tinder; roughly three in 10 had used Match or Bumble; and roughly one in five had used OkCupid, eharmony, or Hinge. Those figures reflect ever-use in the survey, not current user counts or a ranking of quality.
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Before signing up, compare the factors that matter to you:
- Relationship goals: Check whether the service and its community align with what you are seeking, whether that is a serious relationship or something else.
- Local availability: Consider whether there are likely to be enough people in your area who fit your preferences. A large national name does not guarantee a useful local pool.
- Cost and paid features: Identify which features are free, what requires payment, and whether the price fits your budget. Pew found that 35% of adults who had ever used dating sites or apps had paid to use one at some point; that is a past-use measure, not a current price comparison.
- Identity and safety tools: Look at the service’s available controls for reporting, blocking, and managing contact. Their presence does not guarantee that interactions will be safe.
- Accessibility and community: Check whether the interface and the people using the service meet your needs and preferences.
What are the safety risks—and how can you respond?
Public views of dating-app safety are divided. In Pew’s survey, 48% of U.S. adults said dating sites and apps were very or somewhat safe ways to meet people, while 49% said they were not too or not at all safe. These are opinions, not a measure of the risk posed by a specific service or interaction.
Scams are one concern. Fifty-two percent of online dating users said they thought they had encountered a scammer on a dating site or app. This is a perceived encounter, not a verified count of actual scammers.
The Federal Trade Commission describes a common romance-scam pattern: someone builds an online relationship, may claim to be far away or facing an urgent situation, and then asks for money. The FTC’s guidance is direct: “Never send anyone cash or pay with gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency to an online love interest.” If you suspect a scam, report it at the FTC’s romance-scam guidance page, which links to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to read the survey figures
Pew’s findings come from a survey of 6,034 U.S. adults conducted July 5–17, 2022. The sample included 4,996 respondents from Pew’s American Trends Panel and an oversample of 1,038 LGB respondents from Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel; results were weighted to reflect the population. The results are self-reported and U.S.-specific, so they should not be treated as 2026 usage estimates or as predictions about an individual’s dating experience.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchPew also notes that its Asian adult sample was 234 people and primarily included English-speaking Asian adults. It did not separately analyze filtered online-dating results for Asian demographic subgroups. That limits what these findings can establish about those experiences.
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