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NEW YORK — Plenty of singles spend all day swiping left and swiping right. Well, it turns out most of us are all swiped out in 2024. A new poll finds a whopping eight in 10 Americans are “burnt out” with dating apps.
The survey of 1,000 Americans who have used a dating app at least once in the past year found that 78% feel fatigued with the dating app world sometimes, often, or always. Interestingly, women feel more burnt out than men, with 80% reporting feeling some level of burnout compared to 74% of males.
Younger generations are feeling the burn most of all, with Gen Z respondents the most likely to “always” feel some level of dating app exhaustion. The poll by Forbes Health found that dating apps are a veritable minefield of phonies for single Americans looking for the real deal.
According to the results, one in five (21%) adults claimed to lie about their age, with men (23%) being more likely to tweak their numbers than women (19%). Other fibs involved their income (14%) as well as their hobbies and interests (14%). Adding to that dishonesty, 13% admitted to lying about their job, dating history, and even current relationship status.
Another 12% claim they lie about their height — 15% of men and 11% of women — contradicting a common stereotype that men only tend to falsify this information to avoid seeming too short.
Could overuse be a potential cause of burnout?
The research found that the average dating app user spends 51 minutes per day swiping through potential partners, with women spending slightly more time than men. Millennials lead the charge, spending the most time per day on these apps (56 minutes), with the average baby boomer spending the least (37 minutes).
“People who experience burnout with dating apps are exhausted from constantly meeting new people, failing opportunities and lies,” says Rufus Tony Spann, Ph.D., a certified sex therapist and Forbes Health Advisory Board member, in a statement. “Over time, the unfortunate misgivings of being on a dating app can cause someone to lose hope in the dating process and finding the right person.”
A good rule of thumb? As with many things, use dating apps in moderation.
“If it’s taking you away from other meaningful activities in your life, or you find that you can’t stop and constantly think about using the app when you’re not using it, then those might be signs of problems,” adds Judy Ho, Ph.D., a triple board-certified and licensed clinical and forensic neuropsychologist and Forbes Health Advisory Board member based in Manhattan Beach, California.
Keeping moderation in mind, dating app users can maximize their experience by having a couple of go-to strategies in their back pocket to assist in making a quality first impression. Leading with a compliment may be a great conversation starter, as 27% of the survey respondents say they start there. Twenty-six percent take another route, claiming they tailor their first communication based on another user’s profile. Alternatively, nearly one in five (19%) said they recycle a rotation of conversation icebreakers they’ve used in the past, and just 13% choose pickup lines as their go-to strategy.
As for which apps reign supreme in the world of dating today, Tinder is still by and large the most-used app, with 49% of respondents saying they’ve used it within the past year. Following that, Plenty of Fish was second (38%), and Bumble rounded out the top three (29%).
Methodology:
This online survey of 1,000 Americans who have used a dating app within the past year was commissioned by Forbes Health and conducted by market research company OnePoll, in accordance with the Market Research Society’s code of conduct. Data was collected from March 27 to April 1, 2024. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 points with 95 percent confidence. This survey was overseen by the OnePoll research team, which is a member of the MRS and has corporate membership with the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR).
