In 2022, three-in-ten U.S. adults said they have ever used a dating site or app, identical to the share who said this in 2019.

However, online dating is more common among younger adults than among older people. About half of those under 30 (53%) report having ever used a dating site or app, compared with 37% of those ages 30 to 49, 20% of those 50 to 64, and 13% of those 65 and older.

Men are somewhat more likely than women to have tried online dating (34% vs. 27%), as are those with at least some college education when compared to those with a high school diploma or less.

Not surprisingly, adults who have never been married are much more likely than their married peers to report having used online dating sites or apps (52% vs. 16%). Adults who are currently living with a partner (46%) or who are divorced, separated, or widowed (36%) are also more likely to have tried online dating than married adults.

Tinder tops the list of dating sites or apps and is particularly popular among adults under 30. Some 46% of online dating users say they have tried it, followed by about three in ten who have used Match (31%) or Bumble (28%).

OkCupid, eHarmony and our beloved Hinge are each used by about a fifth of online dating users. Grindr and HER are used by very few (6% and 3%, respectively) but are more popular among LGB than straight adults.

As you can see from the pictures, the online dating landscape is hard to describe. Among those who have dabbled in it, slightly more say their personal experiences have been very or somewhat positive than say they have been very or somewhat negative (53% vs. 46%).

Among current or recent online dating users, 54% of women say they have felt overwhelmed by the number of messages they received via these services, while just a quarter of men says the same.

By contrast, 64% of men have felt insecure because of the lack of messages they received, compared to just 40% of women who could say the same.

Most U.S. adults are skeptical about dating algorithms being able to predict love. Only one-in-five adults (21%) think that these computer programs can determine whether two people will eventually fall for one another. Much greater shares of Americans either say these apps and websites could not do this (35%) or are unsure (43%).

If I was to choose a side after scrolling through these images, I would probably have to agree with the latter group.