{"id":16683,"date":"2018-05-24T01:00:21","date_gmt":"2018-05-24T08:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/datemixstaging.wpengine.com\/?p=16683"},"modified":"2021-07-08T06:04:46","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T13:04:46","slug":"dating-at-50","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/","title":{"rendered":"Dating at 50: What to Do and What to Expect\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As of 2016, more than 28% of the U.S. population was 55 or older<\/a>, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The Pew Research Center says 10% of those 50+ are divorced<\/a>. And then there\u2019s AARP, which just released a poll that shows two-thirds of 65- to 80-year-olds are still interested in sex<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this culminates in an older demographic that\u2019s prime for dating. But, if you\u2019re dating at 50 what can you expect and what should you do to meet interesting people, go on great dates, and move into a relationship? Well, there a few small things you may not have thought of that can help you out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are seven important tips for dating at 50:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Don\u2019t worry about age.
\n<\/strong>It may be clich\u00e9 to say that age is just a number, but it\u2019s the truth. Just because you reach a certain age that doesn\u2019t mean you have to stop doing certain things, and that includes dating. You can date, go out late, visit clubs, spend the night with someone, and do whatever you want at any age, as long as it makes you happy and you aren\u2019t hurting anyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if you\u2019re feeling a little old or out of place dating, don\u2019t get down on yourself. Try not to talk too much about your misgivings in an online dating profile or when you\u2019re on a first date. Instead, let your confidence and personality to shine through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Try online dating.
\n<\/strong>Over 49 million people have tried online dating, so clearly there\u2019s some kind of appeal to it. Plus, with over 8,000 dating sites and apps out there, you can choose one, two, or a bunch that can meet your needs. Dating apps, like the ones on this list<\/a>, have made it easier to customize who you’re looking for by searching by your location, interests, and beliefs, and they allow you to date no matter where you are, no matter what time it is, and no matter what you\u2019re doing. (That means you don’t have to go to a bar unless you want to.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Take initiative.
\n<\/strong>Women no longer have to follow outdated dating rules that say they need to wait for the man to make all the moves. Both men and women shouldn\u2019t sit in the backseat when it comes to dating\u2014This is your love life, so take matters into your own hands. Send the first message on a dating site, ask for the first date, lean in for the first kiss if you think the moment is right, and so on. Taking this kind of initiative will make you feel confident, and the person you’re with will know you’re interested and reciprocate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Be safe.
<\/strong>Technology has improved our lives in a lot of ways. Online dating is a great example of that. However, technology has also opened the door for identity theft, romance scams, and other scary situations. You\u2019ll want to do a couple things to ensure your dating experience is safe<\/a> and fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create a new email account that you\u2019ll only use for online dating communication. Don\u2019t put personal or financial information on your profile. Do a Google search on your dates before meeting up. And let a friend or family member know where you\u2019re going to be on your date and when you expect to get home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Be upfront.
\n<\/strong>The majority of singles don\u2019t play games anymore. Things like waiting three days after a date to call or text, being unavailable in an \u201cattractive\u201d way, or waiting for the other person to say I love you first are outdated ways to try to gain power in a relationship that most daters, especially those who are older and more experienced, will see right though. People are more upfront about their feelings, and they want their dates to be that way, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re looking for a serious relationship and are against hooking up, put that in your dating profile or mention it in your messages and on your dates. If you\u2019re not interested in someone, let them know at the beginning. Don\u2019t drag it on because you don\u2019t want to hurt their feelings. You can be nice about all of this, but part of being nice, is being honest. You\u2019ll save everyone a lot of time and energy by doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Be understanding.
\n<\/strong>As I mentioned earlier, a good number of singles over 50 are divorced, and you may be one of them. Don’t think of this as baggage, it\u2019s just something people go through, and it makes them who they are. A lot of mature singles have kids, too. And it can be a rich and rewarding experience dating someone who’s mature and experienced enough to have children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you have a tumultuous relationship with your ex, maybe you met someone who doesn\u2019t want to date a person who has kids, or maybe you\u2019ll meet someone who\u2019s going through something else entirely. The point is to be understanding of your potential dates\u2019 situations, and they\u2019ll be understanding of yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Stay positive.
\n<\/strong>These last two tips kind of go hand in hand. Being open minded and maintaining a positive attitude while dating will go a long way. Try to break out of your shell a bit, go out with someone who you might not normally go out with, and participate in activities that you may have been scared to participate in before. You\u2019re going to have a few bad dates, but everyone goes through that. Don\u2019t give up too quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are just a few things for singles in their 50s to keep in mind, but these tips can really apply to singles at any age. As long as you put yourself out there, try new things, and focus on having fun, you\u2019re sure to meet someone who\u2019s doing the same and looking for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hayley Matthews is editor-in-chief at DatingAdvice.com, a popular site featuring advice from more than 250 dating coaches, matchmakers, and other relationship experts. In addition to expert tips and guides, the site also publishes reviews of online dating sites. When Hayley isn\u2019t writing about dating and relationships, she\u2019s listening to The Beatles or watching Harry Potter.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seven tips to help you navigate the 50-something dating scene. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":16684,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[979],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-over-50-dating"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDating at 50: What to Do and What to Expect<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dating at 50 can be an amazing amount of fun but a little overwhelming if you're not sure where to start. Here are seven tips for dating at 50 that can make a big difference.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dating at 50: What to Do and What to Expect\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dating at 50 can be an amazing amount of fun but a little overwhelming if you're not sure where to start. Here are seven tips for dating at 50 that can make a big difference.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Date Mix\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zoosk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-24T08:00:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-08T13:04:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dq1eylutsoz4u.cloudfront.net\/2018\/05\/14160521\/dating-at-50.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hayley Matthews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/datingeditor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Zoosk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hayley Matthews\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dating at 50: What to Do and What to Expect","description":"Dating at 50 can be an amazing amount of fun but a little overwhelming if you're not sure where to start. Here are seven tips for dating at 50 that can make a big difference.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dating at 50: What to Do and What to Expect","og_description":"Dating at 50 can be an amazing amount of fun but a little overwhelming if you're not sure where to start. Here are seven tips for dating at 50 that can make a big difference.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/","og_site_name":"The Date Mix","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zoosk\/","article_published_time":"2018-05-24T08:00:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-07-08T13:04:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/dq1eylutsoz4u.cloudfront.net\/2018\/05\/14160521\/dating-at-50.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Hayley Matthews","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/datingeditor","twitter_site":"@Zoosk","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hayley Matthews","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/"},"author":{"name":"Hayley Matthews","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/#\/schema\/person\/3190ae3e1060cbf301bc2f54a89a433d"},"headline":"Dating at 50: What to Do and What to Expect\u00a0","datePublished":"2018-05-24T08:00:21+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-08T13:04:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/"},"wordCount":1063,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dq1eylutsoz4u.cloudfront.net\/2018\/05\/14160521\/dating-at-50.jpg","articleSection":["Over 50 Dating"],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/","name":"Dating at 50: What to Do and What to Expect","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dq1eylutsoz4u.cloudfront.net\/2018\/05\/14160521\/dating-at-50.jpg","datePublished":"2018-05-24T08:00:21+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-08T13:04:46+00:00","description":"Dating at 50 can be an amazing amount of fun but a little overwhelming if you're not sure where to start. Here are seven tips for dating at 50 that can make a big difference.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dq1eylutsoz4u.cloudfront.net\/2018\/05\/14160521\/dating-at-50.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dq1eylutsoz4u.cloudfront.net\/2018\/05\/14160521\/dating-at-50.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"caption":"A couple dating at 50, leaning against each other and smiling."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/dating-at-50\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Over 50 Dating","item":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/over-50-dating\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Dating at 50: What to Do and What to Expect\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/","name":"The Date Mix","description":"Dating and Relationship Advice for Today's Daters","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/#organization","name":"The Date Mix","url":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/TDM-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/TDM-logo.jpg","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"The Date Mix"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zoosk\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Zoosk"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/#\/schema\/person\/3190ae3e1060cbf301bc2f54a89a433d","name":"Hayley Matthews","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/avatar_user_135_1523043088-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/avatar_user_135_1523043088-96x96.jpg","caption":"Hayley Matthews"},"description":"Hayley Matthews is editor-in-chief at DatingAdvice.com, a popular site featuring advice from more than 250 dating coaches, matchmakers, and other relationship experts. In addition to expert tips and guides, the site also publishes reviews of the best online dating apps. When Hayley isn\u2019t writing about dating and relationships, she\u2019s listening to The Beatles or watching Harry Potter movies.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/datingeditor"],"url":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/author\/hayley-matthews\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}