Do you believe in love at first sight or shall I walk by again? This pick up line is officially redundant as a recent EliteSingles survey of 2700 singles has revealed that 66% believe in love at first sight. Even more astonishingly, 72% of single men believe in it!
- 72% of men believe in love at first sight, compared to 61% of women.
- Before the age of 30, women are more likely than men to believe in it. After 30, this reverses.
- The group most likely to believe in love at first sight is women aged 18-29 (90% believe). The group least likely to believe in it is women aged 30-40 (just 56% believe).
- 84% of singles aged 18-29 believe in love at first sight, compared with 65% of those aged 30+.
Men and younger women are the most likely to believe in love at first sight
Evidently, and somewhat surprisingly, men seem to be more romantic than women! Almost 3 out of 4 men (72%) believe in love at first sight compared to just 61% of women.
The study also found that younger millennials are the most romantic of them all; with a whopping 84% of 18-29 year olds surveyed vouching for love at first sight (compared with 65% of over 30s). Interestingly, under the age of 30, it’s women who wear the romance crown: 90% of women aged 18-29 believe in love at first sight, compared with 81% of men.
Women aged 30-39 are the least likely to believe
However, this is the only age group where women are more inclined to believe in love at first sight than men: after 30 men consistently show that they are the ones who want to believe.
Furthermore, the most skeptical group of people surveyed were women between the ages of 30-39. By the time they hit their 30s, just 56% of women consider love at first sight a reality – a far cry from the 90% of women under 30 who have faith in instant love.
Love at first sight happens when you least expect it
It seems to be the case that people don’t believe in the romance of love at first sight until they experience it themselves. EliteSingles psychologist, Salama Marine, suggests ‘when you experience it you know it’s real’ and goes on to say ‘when it does happen to you, you know that it can’t happen again. It’s way too strong and crazy.’
From a psychological standpoint, she indicates that many people will experience love at first sight when they’re going through other big changes in life, for example moving city or country (as someone might be more likely to do in their unsettled 20s). She suggests this is because it’s a time when people are least looking for a relationship. ‘When you’re not looking for a partner at all and you’re 100% focused on your life, when you least expect it, it will happen to you.’
For more insight on this study, and on love at first sight in general, please see our in-depth article
Press contact: Sophie Watson
EliteSingles Research Team
About the author: The EliteSingles Press Team
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