A majority of online daters think it is very common for users to lie to appear more desirable % ofonline dating users who say on dating sites and apps is very common People lying about more desirable
Online daters widely believe that dishonesty is a pervasive issue on these platforms. A clear majority of online daters (71%) say it is very common for people on these platforms to lie about themselves to appear more desirable, while another 25% think it is somewhat common. Only 3% of online daters think this is not a common occurrence on dating platforms.
Smaller, but still substantial shares, of online daters believe people setting up fake accounts in order to scam others (50%) or people receiving sexually explicit messages or images they did not ask for (48%) are very common on dating sites and apps. By contrast, online daters are less likely to think harassment or bullying, and privacy violations, such as data breaches or identify theft, are very common occurrences on these platforms.
A majority of online daters think it is very common for  | users to lie to appear more desirable  | % ofonline dating users who say  | on dating sites and apps is very common  | People lying about  | themselves to appear  | 71%  | more desirable  | People setting up fake  | 50  | accounts in order to  | scam others  | People receiving sexually  | 48  | explicit messages or  | images they didn't ask for  | People being  | 25  | harassed or bullied  | Privacy violations, such  | as data breaches or  | 18  | identity theft  | Note: Online dating users refers to respondents who say they have fever used an online  | dating site or app. Those who did not give an answer or who gave other responses are not  | shown.  | Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Oct. 16 28, 2019.  | "The Virtues and Downsides of Online Dating"  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 