Nearly 30 years after the dawn of online dating, we’re still making fools of ourselves when it comes to finding love—or a bit of lust—on the internet. One in seven respondents to The Coast’s 2024 Sex + Dating survey say they prefer to meet potential lovers online. And nearly two in three say they’ve dated someone they met virtually. Even more respondents say they’ve sexted—even if the results aren’t always successful.
Nowadays, sex and dating on the web is big business: One report predicts the online dating industry will be worth US $23.8 billion by 2032. But it isn’t without its pitfalls—from catfishing stories to Tinder red flags to unsolicited dick pics.
We’ve broken down all your juicy (and 100% anonymous) survey responses below:
Have you ever dated online?
Yes - 64%
No - 36%
Lied about yourself on a dating profile?
Yes - 11.6%
No - 88.4%
Catfished someone?
Yes - 4.9%
No - 95.1%
How honest are you in your online dating profile?
Completely honest - 75.6%
Maybe a slight stretch or two of the truth - 23.4%
I’m a serial liar - 1%
Slid into someone’s DMs?
Yes - 26.4%
No - 73.6%
Successfully slid into someone’s DMs?
Yes - 17.7%
No - 82.3%
Sexted?
Yes - 68.3%
No - 31.7%
Sent nudes?
Yes - 56.4%
No - 43.6%
Received nudes?
Yes - 66.4%
No - 33.6%
Made a booty call?
Yes - 57.7%
No - 42.3%
Received a booty call?
Yes - 62.3%
No - 37.7%
Answered a booty call?
Yes - 56.9%
No - 43.1%
Watched, read or listened to porn?
Yes - 94.5%
No - 5.5%
Been in a porn?
Yes - 4.6%
No - 95.4%
How often do you watch, read or listen to porn?
A few times a year - 23.9%
A couple times a week - 19.9%
A few times a month - 19.9%
Never - 18.7%
Most days of the week - 11.7%
Every day - 5.8%
The biggest red flags in someone’s online dating profile are…
“Talking more about what they don’t want than what they do want, or who they are”
“Trying this another time”
“I’ve got no time for games”
“Guys holding fish in profile pics”
“Only pictures with other people”
“Other people cut out of the photos”
“They are rude or judgmental”
“Too wordy about how great they are”
“A big car. (Fuck cars.)”
“Only their face in the pictures”
“Specifying what physical characteristics they want”
“Face tattoos”
“Mirror selfies only”
“Children in photos”
“A Jesus cross”
“Self-absorption”
“Too many dog pics”
“Cats”
“Gym selfies”
“One time I saw ‘my pronouns are bruh/breh’”
“Suspiciously young looking pics”
“Incel bullshit”
“Free spirit”
“Guns”
“TV references (looking at you, ‘Jim for my Pam’)”
“Cowboy hats”
“Looking for a girl who doesn’t take herself too seriously”
“I need a real man”
“Dick pics”
“Saying, ‘not sure what I’m looking for.’ To which I say, get off the fucking dating app until you do know what you want OR if all you want is to fuck around then say as much. Be clear and honest about your intentions.”
