Every second Russian has encountered unsafe situations on a first date.

Half of the users of dating services in Russia have found themselves in an unsafe situation on a first date at least once, and women experience such risks almost twice as often as men. These are the results of a joint study of the Twinby service and the All-Russian Helpline for Women project, which were reviewed by Izvestia on February 3.

According to the survey, which involved 1,777 men and women, 38% of respondents experienced unsafe situations once or twice, and 11.6% encounter them regularly. The gender gap turned out to be pronounced: 59.5% of women periodically feel unsafe on a date versus 30.2% of men. The most vulnerable group were users aged 25-30 years.

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At the same time, the study showed that there is almost no systematic preparation for potential risks. Almost half of the respondents (49.6%) admitted that they do not think of a "plan B" at all in case of danger, and only 16.7% always prepare a scenario in advance for a quick and safe way out of a situation. One in five women (22.4%) regularly plans their actions, while only 7.3% of men do so.

Against this background, there is a growing demand for additional security tools within the dating platforms themselves. More than 80% of respondents have a positive attitude towards user identity verification functions, and support for such mechanisms is higher among those with more online dating experience.

"We see a tendency towards the absence of a "plan B" in practice. This is not really about carelessness, but about the work of mental defenses: to think of a way out is to recognize the risk, and this destroys the romantic scenario. Therefore, the desire for identity verification is a mature shift in focus from the illusion of spontaneity to conscious concern for one's own boundaries," said Larisa Karavaytseva, chief psychologist at Twinby.

Modern Russians are increasingly using psychological compatibility as the main criterion for choosing a partner. As specified on April 23, 88% of women and 82% of men check the psychotype of a potential life partner before starting a serious relationship.

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