10 Online Dating Statistics You Should Know

by Isabel Thottam

Thousands of Canadians are logging on to dating sites to find love and the good news is: there are a lot of single people in Canada. According to Statistics Canada, there were 14.2 million single Canadians in 2014. PlentyOfFish, a Vancouver, British Columbia based dating website, has 100 million users worldwide alone.

So how are your friends finding relationships while your left dining alone? It’s quite possible they met their significant other online. As more people are becoming comfortable using online dating sites, your chances of finding your match are only a few clicks away.

Thinking about giving online dating a try? Here are 10 online dating statistics you should know:

36% of Canadians use online dating

With so many dating websites and apps out there, it’s now normal to use online dating to meet someone. A quarter of all Canadians (ages 18-34) have tried online dating and 16% report they have had sex with someone they met online.

The online dating scene in Canada is growing

According to research by IBISWorld, usage of online dating websites and related services in Canada has grown $6M per year since 2010.

More men use online dating than women

Men make up 52.4 % of online dating users compared to 47.6% who are women. However these online dating statistics can change based on the site being used and location.

AGE CAN IMPACT FINDING A MATCH

For women, online dating statistics show that a woman's desirability online peaks at 21. But, at 26, women have more online pursuers than men whereas, at 48, men have twice as many online pursuers as women.

53% of people lie on their online dating profile

Here's what they're lying about:

20% of women surveyed by global research agency Opinionmatters admitted to using an older photo from when they were younger and thinner. More than 40% of men said they lied about their jobs in an effort to sound more successful.

22% of online daters ask friends to help create their profile

No wonder people lie on their dating profiles–friends are helping them build their profile. One-in-five online daters have asked someone else to help write or review their profile. Female users are seeking help from friends more so than men are: 30% of female users have asked a friend for help with their profile, whereas only 16% of male users have asked friends to help create their profile.

30% of female users

have asked a friend for help with their profile

16% of male users

have asked a friend for help with their profile

Location & sports teams are most common words on profiles

After analyzing the dating profiles of Canadian Match.com users, Huffington Post Canada discovered that the most common words used on profiles refer to location and a person’s favorite sports team.

These are the most used words for nine of Canada’s major cities:

Calgary: Flames	Edmonton: Oilers	Hamilton: Blading
Kitchener/ Cambridge/ Waterloo: Cottages	Montreal: Royal	Ottawa/ Gatineau: Canal
Toronto: Distillery	Vancouver: Seawall	Winnepeg: Jets

Female users aren't just looking for hook-ups

If you're worried joining an online dating site sends a message that you're just looking for sex, it doesn't. Only 33% of women who use online dating websites say they have sex on the first online dating encounter, and 60% of female Tinder users say they are looking for a match, not just a hookup.

20% of current, committed relationships began online

While your best chance at finding love is through a friend–which is how 63% of married couples say they met their partner–you still only have a 17% chance that you will like the person you're set up with. Only 9% of women report finding a relationship at a bar or club, and only 2% of men has made a relationship through that scenario.

So where are people finding love? Online dating statistics show that 20% of those in current, committed relationships began online and 7% of marriages in 2015 were between couples that met on a dating website.

Common interests & looks are the most important factors

When it comes down to it, 64% of people who use online dating sites are looking for someone they have something in common with, and 49% say they are looking for someone with physical characteristics they are attracted to.

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