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We’ve all joked about curiously and excitedly googling a date before we meet them to A) get further confirmation that you aren’t getting catfished B) swoon over them and imagine your entire future with them over more pics (no? just me?) C) find out more about them. While in reality, a study shows that 50% of us who do use the interwebs to date, do this exact thing!
While online dating’s gone up, I can’t imagine googling people’s gone down during the pandemic! So Avast, conducted a survey with over 15,000 participants to understand how people prepare for a date offline.
The results explained
50% of those surveyed said that they research a date before meeting them!
The reasons they gave for googling their date beforehand were:
- Getting to know more about them (60%)
- Verifying the person’s real/not catfishing (50%)
- Fact-checking what their match said (34%)
- Wanting to see how their match interacts and acts on social media (26%)
Most stuck to the regular social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok while only a few dug real deep by checking LinkedIn. 72% however straight up just did a Google search and 23% reverse-image searched their match.
These aren’t the only safety measures they’re taking pre-meet up
- 50% make sure to meet in public
- 37% tell someone they know where they’ll be
- 41% choose a place that they are familiar with
- 6% ask someone they know to be at the same location and time as the date
What do people find when they search, though?
Almost 1 in 3 people who researched their date decided not to meet them based on what they saw (or didn’t see, no social media presence etc.)
44% liked what they saw and decided to continue chatting!
55% ended up having a longer relationship (2 months or more) with the person they searched for, and 15% ended up getting married or having children with that person.
Petra Moravcová, Consumer Insights Expert suggests that “this might be a result of increased confidence on the fit of the match fueled by the matching algorithms of the dating platforms, the information provided on the person’s profile and the extra research done on the other person’s digital footprint which provides topics in common to discuss in the date.”
To Google or not Google?
Well it’s entirely up to you and your comfort level! A quick Google search is a simple step to ensure your safety, so why not! Just make sure you don’t mistakenly like something from 2014 and ask them about a trip they went on in 2016.
Find someone to talk to on the Clover Dating app! Did you also know you can give digital ‘gifts’ on Clover to singles who are live-streaming? It’s the perfect way to flirt!
If you’re media and want to reach our Editor, email Moira Ghazal at social @clover. co
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