Lies, Damn Lies, and Dating Statistics

What do we actually know about the state of love, dating, and relationships?

In the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, I received a steady stream of email pitches featuring dating-related research. They included research on the states with the highest rates of infidelity (sorry Colorado!), the most desired body types on OnlyFans, and the share of Americans who require consent before receiving a hug (one in three, apparently). There was even one offering aphrodisiac cocktail recipes. Partly, this is the result of some marketing professionals realizing that I research and write about dating and relationships. But the proliferation of this type of research is also an inevitable consequence of lowering barriers to entry. Today, as more methodologically rigorous research has become much more expensive, it is possible to conduct a “survey” with minimal resources and zero expertise. There are now DIY survey tools that allow any user to run their own study. Even before AI, we were producing research of dubious quality and limited use.

This introduces two related prob…