Post-Pandemic Dating Trends Emerge: From Personality to Politics
Dating practices have evolved since the coronavirus pandemic, impacted by both politics and personal convictions. The result is a current pool of daters who are more open minded about their match, as evidenced by both empirical and practical research.
Personality Profiles Preferences
Jessica K. De La Mare and Anthony J. Lee (2023) investigated the qualities online daters valued most when selecting potential matches.
They showed a sample of online volunteers comprised of 205 women and 178 men 100 dating profiles which randomly paired facial images with personal descriptions that were pre-rated for perceived personality, and asked participants who they would like to "match" with.
Results revealed participant preferences for agreeableness, openness, and extraversion, but not emotional stability or conscientiousness or emotional stability.
They note that if such online preferences translate into durable relationships, this finding could help explain prior research findings of similarities found in established couples.
Yet as a practical matter, survey research adds to these findings by highlighting specific areas of similarity modern daters value.
Contemporary Dating Tips, Traits, and Trends
In November of 2022, Match.com's Singles in America released their 12th annual study, discussing a wide variety of dating trends.
They discuss what they found to be attractive, including "conscious dating" and mental health, and what was not, which included superficiality and "political misalignment."
They also note the documented allure of inclusivity, acceptance, and open-mindedness.
Conscious Dating
This was defined as considering factors beyond solely physical attraction in order to experience dating as a method of self-exploration, to discover one’s own identify, needs, and behavioral patterns.
They note that distance, age, and what they describe as "surface-level attributes" are considered to be less important than traditional authenticity. Modern singles are apparently "dating with intention," seeking someone with "mindfulness to match."
Less is More
When deciding how formal to get on a date, modern daters have relaxed their standards.
Match’s study found that 84% of singles prefer casual dates over "stuffy wine and dines."
Daters appear to not only to prefer dressing casually themselves, but appear to have dressed down expectations, reimagining first dates as an opportunity to meet a new person, as opposed to a stressful, high-pressure requirement to make a good first impression.
Sparks Versus Warming Trends
The Match study found that 49% of daters fell in love with someone to whom they were not initially attracted, a figure they explain is up from 38% in the last decade.
Why?
They explain that modern singles are willing to give a relationship more time to consider whether there is a spark.
Pandemic-Inspired Perception of Distance Dating
One interesting finding in the study was that 53% of daters said they would be willing to start a relationship with someone who lived over 3 hours away, compared with only 35% expressing such willingness a year earlier.
The authors speculate this might be a post-COVID-19 phenomenon, because 33% of daters admitted their stance on distance dating changed during the pandemic.
Romancing the Ballot Box
In the words of the Match study results, "voting is hot."
58% of respondents believe it is more important than ever to be aware of a partner’s political views.
But there's more.
37% shared that having too strong an opinion is a deal breaker, 22% said it’s a deal breaker if their date didn’t vote in the last election, and 28% would not be interested in a partner who isn’t even registered to vote.
What is not specifically highlighted in these results is an overemphasis on physical appearance — which many daters no doubt view as a welcome reprieve from years past.
Yet regardless of the extent to which looks still matter at least initially, there is apparently much more to the story. Awareness of modern dating preferences can inform a successful approach to modern dating.
The preceding article was originally published in Psychology Today. It is used with the permission of its author.
Wendy L. Patrick, JD, MDiv, Ph.D., is an award-winning career trial attorney and media commentator. She is host of "Live with Dr. Wendy" on KCBQ, and a daily guest on other media outlets, delivering a lively mix of flash, substance, and style. Read Dr. Wendy L. Patrick's Reports — More Here.
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