Online dating has already become a commonplace activity in modern-day romance. Data from Statista forecasted nearly 280 million online dating users by 2024.

Now with data from a recent survey conducted by Dating.com, an online matchmaking platform, the numbers say many singles are ready to take their search for love into the metaverse. According to the survey, those looking for love continue to turn to technology, with 33% of singles planning to date in the metaverse.

The survey highlighted that the use of metaverse avatars can help put an emphasis on, “communication and digital intimacy before in-person discovery.”

Moreover, the metaverse is a borderless world, which can trigger singles to meet from anywhere:

“With advancements in dating app technology and the metaverse, more daters are open to making connections that span different cities, countries and even continents.”

The survey revealed that one third of all respondents said they are open to relationships with people not in their local geographical region.

This comes as additional data finds consumer interest in the metaverse on an upward trend. Data from business and technology strategy adviser Capgemini, says more than 90% of consumers are metaverse-curious.

Correlato: Metaverse experience to sway real-world travel choices in 2023: Survey

Digital identity and, more specifically, identity in the metaverse has been a major talking point for both users and developers over the last year.

As various industries in the real world are stepping into digital reality, the tools users have available to piece together a digital identity are increasing. Whether it be through wearables from a legacy brand or owning land in virtual reality, our digital selves have the potential to represent a lot about who we are and our status.

However, as more personal data is given over to digital reality in order to make the most realistic version of users, the risk of identity theft and other exploits increases.

A recent survey from Kaspersky revealed metaverse exploitation and abuse are projected to rise in the next year.