Love on the Rocks: Why Singles Are Losing Faith in Dating
A new poll finds that single Americans are increasingly pessimistic about finding a partner, distrustful of dating apps, and divided by politics.
—Survey Center on American Life
According to a new poll by the Survey Center on American Life, single Americans are extremely downbeat about the world of dating. Fully 55% of single adults say they feel pessimistic about finding a romantic partner. This belief is held by nearly equal shares of men (57%) and women (54%).
Singles have grown particularly disillusioned with dating apps. 46% of people who have used these apps say the experience left them feeling pessimistic, while only 17% say it made them feel optimistic.
What’s more, there is a growing concern about safety. In 2019, 58% of unmarried adults said dating apps were generally safe. In 2024, that share dropped to only 41%. That’s a decline of -17 percentage points. The drop in trust has been more significant among women (-23 pp) than men (-17 pp).
This dislike of dating apps matches other surveys we have covered. (See “Users Grow Cold on Dating Apps.”) A Pew poll from 2023 found that large shares of users had been called “offensive” names, continually contacted by someone they weren’t interested in, and received unsolicited sexually explicit photos. Most users have also encountered scam accounts.
But dating apps aren’t the only thing depressing singles. Partisan politics has complicated finding a romantic partner. 52% of single women say they would be less likely to date someone who voted for Trump. (Conversely, 39% of single men say they would be less likely to date a feminist.) College-educated women (73%) are significantly more opposed to dating a Trump supporter than women with a high school degree or less (44%).
A major theme of the presidential election was the growing partisan gender divide among young voters: Young men are trending more conservative, while young women are trending more liberal. This partisanship is now a major hurdle for late-wave Millenials and first-wave Homlanders looking for love. (See “Dating Turns Political” and “More on the Widening Youth Gender Divide.”)