Generations compared: Single women over 50 need more freedom
Hamburg, January 20, 2021. Should you move in together or not? Joint vacations or time with friends? Ideas about what constitutes a perfect relationship vary widely. An online survey* conducted by the online dating agency LemonSwan, in which more than 680 singles were surveyed, shows that women over 50 in particular have unconventional ideas about relationships: one in four respondents in this age group enjoys time to themselves and does not want to move in with their partner.
Women over 50 particularly value relationships that allow them freedom
This is the result of a survey of LemonSwan members. For them, this personal space starts in the bedroom: one in four respondents over 50 wants to sleep alone in bed. Only 12 percent of younger women would consider this, compared to 7 percent of male respondents under 40 and 10 percent of those over 50. When it comes to shared living arrangements,
single women over 50 are the largest group who say they want more space for themselves:
while 21 percent would prefer to live alone even in a relationship, only eight percent of
male respondents over 50 say the same. Younger singles tend to have a more traditional view of
living together, or for them, living together is linked to the possibility of
starting a family: Hardly anyone would prefer to keep their single apartment (2 percent of women, 4 percent of men), but more than half would definitely like to move in with Mr. or Mrs. Right (55 percent of women, 56 percent of men). However, around a third (35 percent of women, 28 percent of men) base this decision on the wishes of their partner.
A relationship between equals is particularly important to women over 50
These single women also attach the most importance to their social status and
level of education being on a par with their potential partner. 65 percent of women over 50 say that the level of education should be similar, while only 44 percent of female respondents under 40 consider this important. When it comes to social status in terms of income, half of the women surveyed who are over 50 and single want a partner who is on an equal footing (46 percent). In contrast, only a third of the younger women surveyed say the same. Men of all ages agree: the education of their partner is not important to the majority (under 40: 67 percent, over 50: 70 percent), whereas only one in two is indifferent to social status (under 40: 55 percent, over 50: 47 percent).
When it comes to raising children, women under 40 are most likely to believe in equality: 80
percent believe that raising and caring for children is a matter for both men and women.
Among women over 50, 72 percent say this, while 69 percent of men of both
generations agree with this statement.
Agreement on sex and marriage is a generational issue
There is one topic on which there is the greatest agreement across generations and genders: for
around 70 percent of the singles surveyed, regular sex says something about satisfaction in a
relationship. While sex does not seem to be a question of age, views on marriage vary greatly
depending on the generation: over a third of the younger generation would like to get married later
,
with men (39 percent) even more so than women (31 percent). Almost as
many (27 percent) of those over 50 agree: marriage is no longer an option for them
.
More information on how the two generations think in comparison can be found in the
Methodology:
Online survey of 683 members (58 percent of whom are men) of the platform between
December 5, 2020, and January 4, 2021.
About LemonSwan
LemonSwan is a dating agency for long-term relationships that aims to make online dating more enjoyable, especially for women. Founded in 2017 by Arne Kahlke and Paul Uhlig and based in Hamburg, the company uses a scientifically based personality test, the LemonSwan® method, to provide tailor-made partner suggestions. The trademark of the young company is the swan—because these animals are faithful to their partners for life. For more information, visit www.lemonswan.com
LemonSwan press team:
