Local dating agency Lunch Actually recently released its Annual Dating Survey 2019, which showed insights into the latest perceptions and behaviours in the areas of digital romance.

According to a media release on Dec. 16, the survey was conducted with 2,800 singles in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand.

600 of the singles were from Singapore, aged from 21 to 55 years old.

Singles in Singapore prefer to use dating app

The survey revealed that singles in Singapore prefer to use dating apps to meet new people (51 per cent), the highest percentage among singles in the five countries surveyed.

The survey also revealed the different factors men and women consider when using dating apps.

Men ranked profile picture as the top factor (53 per cent), followed by dating bio (17 per cent) and hobbies and interests (16 per cent).

In contrast, women ranked dating bio as the factor (35 per cent) to gain their attention, followed by the profile picture (28 per cent) then hobbies and interests (20 per cent).

Dating fatigue

While dating apps are useful tools for singles to meet people beyond their social circles, the survey concluded that dating apps have their limitations.

Appearance is a key factor that app users consider.

However, when meeting someone in person, singles attribute positive personality (55 per cent) and having similar values (43 per cent) as the two most attractive traits in a potential partner.

These traits might be difficult to find out via interactions on dating apps.

Violet Lim, the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Lunch Actually, said that profile pictures might lead to singles de-prioritising what really matters, such as similar values and the sustainability of a relationship.

Matching with people based on appearances might lead to singles spending too much time chatting with others whom they eventually find to be incompatible.

Lim said, "Merely swiping their mobiles in search of an attractive face often does not result in a good and compatible match. And often, singles have shared that swiping and chatting takes a lot of time and effort, with little or limited result."

That will lead to dating fatigue that singles are facing now, Lim added.

This is especially true for women, as 37 per cent of them admitted that they are losing faith in the effectiveness of dating apps.

All is not lost with dating and finding love. 97 per cent of Singaporeans are still keen to fall in love and get married in the future.

Top photo via Pixabay