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Android user? Good luck getting a date with someone using an iPhone

It turns out that politics and religion aren’t the only indicators of compatibility — smartphone preferences are as well. Apparently, when it comes to finding love, one person having an iPhone while the other has an Android can be a deal breaker. As per a recent survey of more than 5,500 American singles aged 18 and over conducted by dating site Match.com, Apple users are particularly picky when it comes to finding their mates, especially if that potential mate is swiping on an Android device.

In fact, iPhone owners were found to be 21 times more likely to pass negative judgment on someone for having an Android than having an iOS device. But this is a two way street — Android users were 15 times more likely to scoff at an iPhone owner. And worse yet, if you’re slow on the uptake when it comes to updates, you might have trouble finding love with either Android or iOS users — as per the survey data, owners of older smartphone models are 56 percent less likely to get a date than those with the latest technology.

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 “We look for so many other ways in which we’re compatible with potential partners, why shouldn’t phones be on the list?” Abby Rodman, a psychotherapist in Boston, told MarketWatch. “Where a person lives, what car they drive, and what they do for a living are all things we weigh before embarking on a relationship. That may be pitiful commentary, but we’re also looking for compatibility in the non-materialistic: political viewpoints, religious convictions, and fundamental ethical values.”

Among those non-materialistic judgments include a date’s proficiency in grammar (the inability to tell “your” from “you’re” is a no-no for 39 percent of single folks) and surprisingly enough, dependency upon social media. It turns out that 58 percent of those surveyed said they were turned off by people who complained on Facebook, and 50 percent would rather not date someone who spent “too much time” on social media (though “too much” seems like a subjective measure).

“If you’re living every breath of your life out loud on social media, you may be perceived as not being reliable enough to honor the sanctity of another’s confidence or of a romantic relationship,” Rodman noted. “Complaining in cyberspace may be perceived as childish. You’re not really doing anything except spouting to no one in particular about your crappy boss or bad hair day.”

In any case, one thing is clear — technology is having an ever-increasing impact on our dating life.

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