65% of Daters Open to Long-Distance, Pushing Apps Beyond the Match

It’s a tale as old as time: Girl meets boy, boy moves to Cincinnati for job at tech start-up, girl and boy promise to Facetime every night, boy is “bad at texting”, and break up ensues. But not every long-distance relationship plays out like a bad movie. 

Even with miles between them, some couples do find their happily ever after together. In fact, 65% of respondents in a recent Tawkify survey said they’re open to long distance relationships.

Tawkify’s survey points to a generation of daters who are increasingly willing to take risks and literally make big moves for love, but don’t necessarily have the tools they need to make these complicated relationships work. 

In fact, the survey found that a majority of long distance relationships start on social media (26%), making this dynamic a much more immediate and important part of modern dating than some expect. Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble match according to distance, but this isn’t as relevant to modern daters. 

Long-Distance Dating Isn’t Casual for Modern Daters

People agree to date long distance because, well, they like each other. But nearly 70% of Tawkify’s survey respondents agree that mere “like” isn’t enough; they would have to have a strong emotional connection with a partner before considering going long distance.

Only 27% said they would embark on a long-distance relationship on an adventurous whim.

And people don’t always agree to long-distance relationships because they think it’s romantic. Thirty-two percent simply have the means to travel more than the average person thanks to a remote job or flexible schedule. 

But many extenuating circumstances can quickly turn a “yes” to long-distance dating into a “hell, no.” Communication challenges (22%), trust issues (25%), emotional distance (27%), and a lack of physical intimacy (29%) are immediate problems couples face in long-distance relationships, according to Tawkify.  

Thirty-one percent say the biggest challenge long-distance daters face is scheduling visits.

And at the top of the list? Surprisingly, the biggest challenge long-distance daters face is scheduling visits, according to 31% of Tawkify respondents. The dating industry must understand the common pitfalls of long distance dating if it wants to meet these daters’ needs. 

Some relationships platforms, like LiveStatus, Coupla, and iPassion, attempt to do just that by offering tools and resources to help couples nurture their long-distance relationship (and address those pesky logistical issues, like the scheduling conflicts). 

Couples can usually overcome logistical issues, so long as their communication and trust skills are intact. And trust is, unsurprisingly, a defining factor in the success (or failure) of long-distance relationships: Only 35% say they trust long-distance relationships as much as those formed locally. 

Communication Gaps are an Opportunity for Innovation 

The dating industry wouldn’t exist if people didn’t have a primordial need to talk to each other. So, naturally, the industry can make a strong impact with long-distance couples who struggle to communicate. 

After all, 47% said a lack of communication is a dealbreaker in long-distance relationships, as are unclear intentions (31%) and a murky timeline (16%). Communication problems are so often the root cause of break-ups, making it a huge red flag for dating pros and platforms to address. 

And yet, Tawkify also found that couples often have different ideas of what “healthy communication” really means in long distance relationships. Forty percent of singles say they’d expect to communicate in some way with their long distance partner multiple times per day. 

Couples have different ideas of what “healthy communication” is in long-distance relationships.

But this is, obviously, a slippery slope: Too much communication can be overwhelming, and too little can sow distrust. Meanwhile, 26% say all they’d need is a few check-ins with their partner per week, and 25% expect communication once daily. 

Only 7% of respondents are indifferent about communication (or, at least, they don’t have clear expectations). More than half of respondents (56%) said “not enough effort from the other person” is a dealbreaker.

Amid so much variety, one thing is clear: Daters in long-distance relationships need additional help deciding what “healthy communication” looks like to them. 

The chat and video features offered by dating and relationship apps are helpful, but they may not go deep enough for long-distance couples craving intimacy. The apps we mentioned earlier are a step in the right direction, and there’s an opportunity for further innovation in the communication space.  

Couples are Willing to Travel for Love

A majority of respondents (84%) are open to relocating for a relationship, so long as the relationship is with the right person. 

Interestingly, this number is stable among most age groups, including Gen X and older generations, suggesting daters of all ages are open to major life changes, like relocation, if it’s for true love. 

But just how far someone is willing to go for their partner depends entirely on the strength of the relationship. Sixty-nine percent are open to traveling back and forth to see a high-quality match so long as they and their partner take turns. 

Perhaps surprisingly, more people (59%) are willing to travel to a different city to meet a match than they are to host them in their own city (51%). Travel isn’t the dealbreaker it once was; where people once turned to Tinder for local love connections, now they’re willing to look beyond their tristate area (and even buy a plane ticket if need be). 

Fifty-nine percent are willing to travel to a different city to meet a match.

Since just 39% would be willing to start the relationship with virtual-only dates, the importance of in-person first impressions can’t be ignored. These findings speak to the increased number of daters craving quick, nonsense-free, in-person connections. 

At DatingNews, we’ve been tracking this trend for a while: Last year, we reported how Social Discovery Group found that 71% of survey respondents were interested in making international connections as compared to 12% before the pandemic. This is especially true for daters with specific cultural or religious priorities. 

At the time, matchmaker Jessica Fass told DatingNews that “love has no zip code” for couples “with the right mindset, communication, and strategic approach.” 

With matchmakers and dating platforms supporting international and long-distance relationships, these professionals have a clear opportunity to make the process easier for couples — to help them establish the right mindset and strategic approach Fass mentioned.