Online dating can sometimes be a frustrating affair, negotiating profiles that are less realistic than the one you’ve posted yourself, finding out the person you’ve spent countless hours sending emojis to is not really the one your heart desires. Nonetheless, young Americans are turning to dating sites and apps like never before.

According to a new survey taken by the Pew Research Center in the USA, the amount of people aged between 18-24 using online dating sites or mobile dating apps has tripled in the last three years. At the same time usage has doubled for 55 to 64 year olds, with 15 percent (11 percent in 2013) of all American adults having downloaded an app or browsed a dating website to hook-up with someone.

What’s interesting is a change in demographics using such methods. The report states, “This growth has been especially pronounced for two groups who have historically not used online dating at particularly high levels – the youngest adults, as well as those in their late 50s and early 60s.”

You are also more likely to hook-up online if you are affluent, the reports says, with 58 percent of college graduates knowing someone who uses online dating and 46 percent of grads knowing someone who entered into a serious relationship or even gotten married. If you have a high school diploma those numbers go down to 25 percent and 18 percent, respectively. The same trend is also seen in earnings. If you are on less than $30K a year it seems there’s around a 30 percent chance you’ll know someone who dates online, while if you earn $75K+ that number rises to 58 percent.

According to the report the majority of Americans have had positive experiences dating online, and also believe that it’s just much easier than the old school public approach. On the other hand almost half of the survey respondents said dating online could be potentially dangerous, with less people saying that online dating is “desperate” and might also prevent you from ever settling down given almost a bottomless pile of options.

Photo credit:Connie Ma via Flickr