While conventional dating wisdom generally considered making the first move to be the guy’s job, in 2018, that’s no longer the case. Women are becoming more comfortable approaching guys they’re interested in both online and in person, no longer content to sit back and wait for love to come their way. It seems like dating apps haven’t caught up with the times, however, since a new study has revealed that gender roles still reign online.
Researched performed by the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and eHarmony discovered that men are actually 30% more likely to reach out first on dating apps. Not only that, but they’re 15% less likely to respond to a woman who gets the nerve to make the first move. That conclusion was a result of a study of over 150,000 profiles and a decade’s worth of eHarmony data, so it seems pretty iron-clad.
The study also looked for which traits the most successful users on dating apps had in common. For men, those who had more photos uploaded to their profile tended to come out on top, as well as those who were seen as “athletic, agreeable, and altruistic.” Women with the same characteristics were also approached more, though those who were viewed as “anxious” (how anyone can tell that from a dating profile, God knows) or even intelligent got less online action. Great.
Of course, if a guy is put off wanting to date you because you dared to make the first move, he’s probably not worth dating to begin with. Regardless of what the data says, the truth is that any guy who’s up to your standards will actually appreciate that you approached him and won’t feel emasculated by a strong, independent woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it. It’s 2018, dudes—get on board.
