Anecdotal:<p>The % of people I know who found a LTR that translated into a marriage via online dating is still significantly lower than the people I know who met their eventual mate through friends&#x2F;meetups&#x2F;work. I&#x27;d guess in my social network, it&#x27;s 20% from dating apps, 80% from IRL. Granted I&#x27;m in the 20s&#x2F;30s bracket, which may still be on the horizon of the societal shift.<p>Since Jan 2016, I&#x27;ve tested going to meetups on Meetup.com vs using daily usage of dating apps.<p>Through Meetup.com meetups, I&#x27;ve found occasional dates but also made friends with incredible people, expanded my social network, and continued with self-improvement. To be engaged in ways that challenge me and to occasionally meet and date accomplished women is something to look forward to every single week.<p>Comparatively, online dating has been hugely disproportionate when calculating time invested vs. time rewarded. I either write messages that get ignored. Or login into the app to indicate interest in matches that eventually don&#x27;t result in a date. It feels like really boring and demoralizing work.<p>I&#x27;m not saying people can&#x27;t be successful with online dating. It&#x27;s just for me, I don&#x27;t find it particularly gratifying.