The #MeToo movement has sparked a change in the way single Americans date, with most saying the changes have been an improvement.
Dating service Match.com conducted a survey of more than 5,000 single men and women in the US and found that the dating scene is evolving.
At 59%, a wide majority of single Americans said they feel the #MeToo movement is important to them, and that has been reflected by a change in behavior as well.
More than half of men, 51% to be exact, said the #MeToo movement has made them rethink their actions.
“They are thinking more carefully about when they tell a joke, they’re thinking more carefully about topics they discuss, they’re thinking more carefully about when they invite a woman home,” says Dr. Helen Fisher, Chief Scientific Advisor for Match.com.
Those changes are not limited to their dating life either, as nearly 40% of men said they are more reserved around their female colleagues as well.
Women also said the movement was rethinking the way they date.
Most singles welcome the changes, with only 14% saying the #MeToo movement was making it harder to date.
And dating could be getting more equal overall. Men appear to be ready to let women take on more of a lead in dating, with 73%, an overwhelming majority, saying they would be happy if a woman sparked a conversation on a dating app. The results showed that 89% of men would be happy if women asked for their phone number and 87% welcome women initiating the first kiss.
Only 20-30% of women have done so, but the data finds that younger generations are more likely to step up. For example, only 27% of older women say they have been the one to reach out first after a good date, but that figure goes up to 35% of millennials and 43% of singles in Generation Z.