Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, Coffee Meets Bagel, OkCupid, Match. Dating in 2018 is weird.
Here are the stats: Currently, 40 million Americans use online dating services, and there are 87 million singles in the U.S. The number of 18-to-24-year-olds who use online dating has tripled the last three years.
Out of the 27% of (reported) Americans that use online dating sites/apps, 5% of Americans who are married or in committed relationships met their partners online, according to the Pew Research Center.
In our unofficial poll the West Asheville Exchange (a.k.a WAX) Facebook Group, hundreds of you commented.
💭 Here is what some of you said:
- ️“I can tell you that being a widowed dad of a toddler doesn’t necessarily jive with the ‘I love to laugh and travel and live in the woods when the weather permits’ type that is prevalent here.”
- “I think with so many places to hang and drink, the opportunity for a real connection is more difficult.”
- “I’m genuinely sorry to everyone who has had trouble in the dating scene here. I’ve had my fair share of flakes, ghosts, and heartbreaks in this town, but none I would attribute the town, itself.”
- “As online dating becomes easier and less stigmatized, meeting people organically is fading out and soon will be a fond but distant memory, like pants that zip off at the knees.”
- “It seems difficult because of a) a whole lot of hookup culture, and b) everyone knows each other.”
More:
- “Asheville is an especially difficult place to really get a good foothold. Cost of living versus wages means many single people are out ther working hard making ends meet. High costs of rent near the city seems to spread out the population quite a bit. Dating can sometimes be a logistical nightmare.”
- “As online dating becomes easier and less stigmatized, meeting people organically is fading out and soon will be a fond but distant memory, like pants that zip off at the knees.”
- “Being poly in Asheville hasn’t been as bad as when I was monogamous, I will say that. We have a nice poly group and meetups in Asheville. But that’s solely from my experience.
- “Most of these comments make me wonder where in the heck y’all are meeting people and you’re ‘screening’ them ahead of time.”
- “The lesbian dating pool is pretty incestuous here. Oh you’re dating her? We used to date too, and her ex dated my friend who’s now with my ex’s ex.”
- “I’m genuinely sorry to everyone who has had trouble in the dating scene here. I’ve had my fair share of flakes, ghosts and heartbreaks in this town, but none I would attribute the town, itself.”
- “The last date I was on in Asheville was in 1984 at Annabelle’s in the Asheville Mall. The girl I was on the date with paid the check, so I immediately married her, and subsequently have not been on the dating scene since.”
