To sext or not to sext
Match.com singles survey reveals shocking stats about sexting and friends with benefits
On Tuesday, Dallas-based Match.com released its third annual survey on Singles in America, and the findings might surprise you.
If you're looking to impress, the best way to do so is to speak correctly. Good grammar, second only to the quality of one's teeth, goes a long way. Sixty-nine percent of women and 51 percent of men judge a date by sentence structure. Seventy-one percent of women and 58 percent of men said they critically evaluate a potential suitor's teeth on the first date.
The survey reflects insight from more than 5,000 unattached men and women on love, dating and deal breakers. Respondents (who were not necessarily Match.com members), ranging from age 21 to 71+, answered around 200 questions, including opinions on Facebook, sexting, and friends with benefits.
Forty-two percent of men who shared a sext did so with at least three friends. Yikes.
The jury's still out on acceptable social media practices. Forty-eight percent of women research someone on Facebook before a date, but 49 percent of men thinking it's unacceptable to do so.
Sexting is a bit more widespread. Fifty-seven percent of men and 45 percent of women have received a sext, and 23 percent of these singles shared the information with others. Forty-two percent of men who shared the sext did so with at least three friends. Yikes.
Still deciding whether or not to keep a potential suitor in the friend zone? The survey says 47 percent of singles have had a "friends with benefits" relationship in the past, and these arrangements are turning into long-term relationships more than ever before.
In 2011, just 20 percent of friendly hook-ups translated into real relationships, but that number jumped to 44 percent in 2012. Using data from three years worth of Singles in America surveys, anthropologist Helen Fisher says that the unattached have become more optimistic about finding a long-term relationship since 2010. A whopping 90 percent of singles who want to marry believe they will stay with the same person forever.
"Despite all we hear about hooking up and divorce, we now have significant data that shows American singles (including men) are earnestly seeking respect, trust, transparency and commitment in a relationship," Fisher said in statement.
Fisher believes the Singles in America survey has shown positive signs about the future of relationships.
"Over the three years of this study, women have consistently wanted more independence, while men have expressed more interest in romance," Fisher said. "Nevertheless, both sexes believe a relationship can last, and both continue their primordial drive to find and keep love."
And, apparently, to sext.
