For the first time in our 2013 survey we asked specifically about the use of these cell phone dating apps.Among those who use cell phone apps, 7% say that they have specifically used a dating app on their phone.The typical (median) online dating site user is 38 years old, while the typical (median) dating app user is 29 years old—nearly a decade younger.Although the proportion of Americans who say that they personally use online dating has not changed dramatically since 2005, familiarity with online dating through others (i.e., knowing someone who uses online dating, or knowing someone who has entered into a relationship via online dating) has increased significantly over that time.
In 2008 just 3% of all Americans said that they had used an online dating site; by 2009 that figure had risen to 6% of all Americans, and today 9% of the adult population has used an online dating site.Since 45% of all Americans are app users, that means that 3% of the overall adult population has used a cell phone dating app at one point or another.Similarly, 6% of smartphone owners have used a mobile dating app.Older adults use online dating sites in at least modest numbers, but dating app usage is effectively non-existent for people in their mid-forties and beyond.The median ages for online dating site users and dating app users are illustrative in highlighting the age differences between each group.