Dating Trends

The Telegraph recently reported on some interesting findings from a survey commissioned by their Sunday magazine, Stella, into dating trends. The You Gov survey, which interviewed almost 2,000 men and women of all ages and backgrounds, concluded that a “revolution in British dating habits means more of us than ever before are waiting until our 30s to get married – and more of us are divorcing in our 60s and beyond – meaning that our dating years are extending at both ends of the spectrum”.

The survey found that over 55s were the most active daters, not those in their 20s or 30s as you might expect. Of those interviewed 60% of men and women over 55 had joined a dating organisation, compared to just 20% of 18-24 year olds and almost as many men as women said the main reason was to find a long-term relationship.

Another slightly surprising finding, if you believe the stereotypical view that men are more influenced by looks than women, was that 91% of the men surveyed rated a sense of humour as the most important trait they were looking for in a woman and 85% rated intelligence equal second most important, along with attractiveness. Women rated not just sense of humour and intelligence, but also shared values and sexual compatibility as being more important than attractiveness in men.

The survey also found that, despite the fact that women these days are more likely earn as much if not more than men, 92% of women said that the man paid for their last date. So it would seem that when it comes to dating the old fashioned rules of chivalry still apply: women like the man to pay and men are happy to do so.

Also perhaps surprisingly, given the current economic recession, 79% of men said they would expect to spend more or the same amount on a date now as this time last year (October 2008), only 9% saying they would spend less.

Although this particular survey was a relatively small scale one, here at Classical Partners we are seeing that men and women of all ages are keen to explore different ways of meeting new people, and we try to help our clients to do this by way of regular and varied social events and carefully arranged introductions. See Events.

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