Americans might be growing more cynical with regards to politics, your the economy and perhaps the planet in general, but that hasn't stopped them from believing in the something more fickle than all of them: LOVE.
According to a new national report “The Happiness Index: Love and Relationships in America” by eharmony, 64 percent of american citizens are “very happy” within their romances with a partner or spouse and nearly 50 % report being happy with their sex lives.
“At eharmony, we talk a lot about happiness in relationships and how to have them going strong,” says Grant Langston, ceo for eharmony. “We desired to put society towards the make sure get a feeling of how couples are living and loving in America today. Probably the most surprising finding is that gender and age dynamics in relationships are evolving, debunking misconceptions long held about both men and millennials.”
The new survey reveals that millennials ages 25 to 34 would be the happiest within their relationships. Presenting a counter-narrative to the belief that divorce is rampant, 19 percent of american citizens report being unhappy in their relationships, but say they are discovering it worthwhile to stay together for the long haul: the average period of rapport is 18 years overall, spiking as much as 36 years for respondents within the age 65.
In addition, the survey identified the tips for success for that 26 percent of respondents who said they were “perfectly happy” within their long-term romantic relationships. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they tended to have taken time to get at know one another before taking the plunge into marriage, were the same age his or her partner or spouse, and had many shared interests, making time for each other even after having children.
(Around the flipside, only six percent of respondents characterized themselves as “desperately unhappy” within their relationships, and were likely to have prioritized companionship over love, lacked intimacy and were not as likely than average to be married.)
Here's how this data can help guide us during the online dating process.
1. Find someone with shared values along with a similar method of conflict resolution.
According towards the study, people in the happiest relationships share similar values, like ambition, confidence, optimism and therefore are people who handle conflict resolution the same way. It makes sense, if you have different values and an opposite approach to resolving conflict (i.e. one of you likes to talk about everything, whereas your partner prefers to avoid conflict altogether, letting it mushroom cloud at a later point) you're going to have a harder time getting along.
2. Compromise is important.
Millennials are at the forefront with regards to dealing with their problems. According to the data, young people would be the most tolerant of handling relationship difficulties, are two times as likely to have tried counseling or therapy and therefore are more open to compromise, demonstrating maturity and conflict resolution. Whether or not you're a millennial, search for somebody that is available to talking about their issues, working through them and compromising. A relationship is really a give-and-take. You cannot be prepared to be happy should you both insist upon a “my way or even the highway” approach.
3. Money matters.
Unfortunately, money is important in some cases when it comes to love. Those with the greatest household income report the greatest level of both happiness and satisfaction with their relationships. Seventy-one percent of people with a household salary of a lot more than $200,000 say they are completely in love, yet those making under $30,000 annually come in second at 65 percent. This will make lots of sense considering 27 % of people report arguments about money (more money = less arguments about money.)
With having said that, as the survey results show a correlation between income and happiness in relationships, money can't buy love. Nearly three-quarters of Americans still report having a warm and comfy relationship, with minimal variances across household income. So, perhaps the key isn't a huge salary, but getting a partner a partner which has a similar approach to coping with conflict (as mentioned above).
4. Men are romantic.
Romance isn't dead! While women tend to show more indications of daily affection, such as saying “I really like you,” males are bringing the romance. Actually, they are more likely to hold hands using their partner, share an intimate kiss, write a love note, place their partner on night out and even buy small gifts, simply because. So, if romance is exactly what you crave as well as your date says they're “just not very romantic” – don't feel like you have to settle.