Opinion: A big reason so many Americans are still single

A record number of Americans are single this Valentine’s Day. In 2020 and 2021, the marriage rate hit the lowest numbers since the government began tracking it in 1867 — a trend that was well underway before the pandemic. According to research by the Pew Research Center, an unprecedented 25% of 40-year-olds have never been married. Those who are single are far less likely to be living with a romantic partner than they were in 1990. A paradoxical reason, I argue in my forthcoming book: Dating apps.

The conventional wisdom, of course, is that online dating has made it easier to meet people. While that may be true, few of these matches are leading to marriage — or even meaningful relationships. In 2019, only 12% of Americans had ever had a committed relationship with someone they met online.

First, many dating sites ask users a slew of questions and claim they’ll use the answers to match them with the right people. OKCupid, for example, says it matches people based on the answers they provide on their views of “everything from pineapple on pizza to voting rights.” This flies in the face of decades of academic research. Unfortunately, people’s qualities can’t predict whether they’ll be compatible.

Second, plenty of other research tells us that when people are overwhelmed with choices, they respond by not choosing any of them. Dating sites give people the impression of having loads of options because there always seems to be another person to swipe on.

When people think they can easily find another romantic partner, they view the one they have less positively, are less committed to them and are more likely to break up with them.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/13/opinions/dating-apps-relationships-alaimo/index.html