When it comes to dating, it’s always a big question: Should I kiss on a first date? While some will say you should wait, others say if you’re feeling it, then go for it. Granted, that doesn’t answer the question for anyone, but it does say that what you choose to do on a first date — kissing or otherwise — is your call. If it feels like the right thing for you and your date is into it, then it can’t be wrong.
Just in time for International Kissing Day, July 6, Match has decided to take the opportunity to dig deep and get to the bottom of this age old question, the one that keeps everybody up at night. Compiling and analyzing data from 2009 to 2015, Match got down to the nitty-gritty of the matter to find out who, if anyone, is kissing on the first date. In some not so breaking news, people are, in fact, kissing on the first date! But who these people are varies on location, age, politics, and even what kind of date it is.
So before you doll yourself up for your next big date with someone who may or may not be "the one," here’s who’s kissing on the first date and who isn’t.
1. Generation X
According to Match’s findings, GenX — those born in the early ‘60s through the early ‘80s — are more likely to kiss on the first date than the generations before and after them. While 52 percent of the GenX crowd kiss on a first date, only 50 percent of Millennials and 47 percent of Baby Boomers do so.
2. The Northeast
Well, well, well… New York and Boston take note! When it comes to where the majority of these first date kisses are happening, it’s in the Northeast. Match found that 52 percent of Northeasterners kiss on the first date, followed by the Midwest, the South, and West, all of which have a 49 percent first date kissing rate.
3. Online Daters
When it comes to online daters versus those who meet people IRL, it’s the online group who are more likely to expect a first date kiss. In fact, online daters are 34 percent more likely to expect it than those who date the old-fashion way.
4. Moderate Democrats
Since for whom we vote affects all areas of our life, it only makes sense that politics would play a hand in who and where and when we kiss, too. So, that being said, at 23 percent, moderate democrats are most likely to want a first date kiss.
5. Casual Daters
According to the study, casual daters are 149 percent more likely than any other type of dater to want a kiss on the first date. In contrast, those who are single and don’t really have that much of an interest in dating (but evidently do date for whatever reason), are the least likely to want a kiss.
6. Those NOT On A Coffee Date
Apparently, the type of date you’re on dictates whether or not a first date kiss will happen. Those on a coffee date are 38 percent less likely to want a first date kiss, as well as those on a lunch date who are 42 percent less likely to want to end the afternoon with a smooch. I guess if you’re hoping to get a first date kiss, then you need to take the dinner or drinks route.
Images: Fotolia; Giphy (6)
