Official Releases College Relationship Trends Ahead of “Turkey Drop” Szn

As college students return home for their first break in November, many face the infamous “Turkey Drop,” where distance and separation can put even the strongest relationships to the test.

Official, the app for modern relationships, wants to help couples avoid the “Turkey Drop” this year.  The company released its first-ever report on college dating trends to uncover truths about the modern dating scene for students – highlighting the most common challenges to show how Official can be used as a tool to alleviate those relationship stressors.

By examining factors like where couples meet, relationship duration, and communication patterns, this report reveals the challenges college students face today—from navigating situationships to balancing friendships and family dynamics. 

This data breaks down insights by relationship length (under vs. over six months) and type (Long-Distance (LDR) vs. Geographically Close (GCR)), highlighting key trends and challenges broken out by topic for a clearer view of the current college dating landscape.

Relationships Under 6 Months vs Relationships Over 6 Months

How We Met

• Where did you and your partner meet? 
  • Respondents together for less than 6 months are nearly 1.5 times more likely to have met online compared to those in relationships lasting more than 6 months, who tend to rely more on on-campus connections.
• Where online did you meet your partner?
  • Respondents together for less than 6 months are nearly 1.5 times more likely to report meeting on dating apps, while those in relationships lasting more than 6 months tend to connect more on social media.
• What year in college were you when you met your partner?
  • 45% of couples in relationships longer than 6 months who responded to Official’s survey met their partner during freshman year, compared to 26% of those in shorter relationships.

Defining the Relationship

• Were you in a ‘situationship’ before you began your relationship?
  • 32% of couples in relationships longer than 6 months who responded to Official’s survey were in a situationship before beginning a relationship, compared to 35% of couples together for less than 6 months.
• How long were you and your partner in a 'situationship' before actually dating?
  • Among couples in a situationship prior to dating, 38% of respondents reported it lasted between 1 to 3 months, while only 24% of respondents indicated it lasted less than 1 month.

Time Spent Together & Communication

• How often do you and your partner talk per day?
  • Among couples in longer relationships (>6 months), 63% of respondents communicate with their partner more than three times a day, compared to only 27% in shorter relationships.
• How often do you discuss your friends with your partner?
  • 44% of respondents together for more than 6 months frequently or always discuss their friends, compared to 36% of respondents together for less than 6 months.
• Do you ever gossip about your family to your partner?
  • 37% of couples who responded to Official’s survey in relationships over 6 months frequently gossip about their family, compared to 31% of respondents in shorter relationships.
• Where do you spend the most time together?
  • Respondents in relationships lasting more than 6 months are 2.3 times more likely to report spending most of their time together at home compared to respondents in relationships of less than 6 months.
  • Respondents in relationships lasting more than 6 months are 5.7 times more likely to spend time together on campus compared to respondents in relationships of less than 6 months.

Milestone Moments

• Have you and your partner ever taken a vacation together?
  • Couples who responded to Official’s survey who have been together for more than 6 months are nearly 2.8 times more likely to have vacationed together than those respondents in relationships under 6 months.
• Have you and/or your partner ever met each other’s family?
  • Respondents who have been together for more than 6 months are nearly 3.4 times more likely to have met each other's families than respondents who have been together for less than 6 months.

First Dates

• Where was your first date with your partner?
  • 53% of respondents together for less than 6 months had their first date off-campus, whereas 94% of respondents in longer relationships also preferred off-campus locations.
• How often do you and your partner go on one-on-one dates?
  • Respondents together for less than 6 months are nearly 1.5 times more likely to go on 1-on-1 dates weekly or more frequently than respondents in relationships lasting over 6 months, whose space dates out to every 2-3 weeks.
• What type of dates do you enjoy the most with your partner?
  • Respondents together for less than 6 months are nearly 1.5 times more likely to enjoy off-campus dates, while respondents in relationships over 6 months also prefer off-campus but with a broader variety of date options.

Conflict Levels

• How often do you argue with your partner?
  • Respondents who have been together for less than 6 months are about 1.6 times more likely to report never arguing. Respondents in relationships over 6 months are almost 2 times more likely to argue occasionally compared to respondents consisting of newer couples who report rarely or never arguing.

Living Arrangements

• How would you describe your current living situation with your partner?
  • Respondents in relationships under 6 months are nearly 1.5 times more likely to live separately, while those together for more than 6 months are about 3 times more likely to live together.

Long-Distance Relationships (“LDR”) vs. Geographically Close Relationships 

How We Met

• Where did you and your partner meet?
  • Respondents in geographically close relationships are 2.8 times more likely to have met on campus, while long-distance couples are twice as likely to have met off-campus.
• Where online did you meet your partner?
  • Respondents in geographically close relationships are 1.7 times more likely to have met on a dating app, whereas long-distance respondents connect more frequently through social media.
• What year in college were you when you met your partner?
  • Respondents in geographically close relationships are 2.5 times more likely to have met during freshman year compared to respondents in long-distance relationships.

Biggest Relationship Struggle 

• What’s the hardest part about being in a long-distance relationship?
  • Respondents in long-distance relationships lasting more than 6 months are 6.3 times more likely to report feeling disconnected as the hardest part compared to respondents in relationships of less than 6 months.
  • Long-distance couples who responded to Official’s survey who were together for more than 6 months are 3.1 times more likely to report a lack of physical intimacy as the hardest part compared to those in new long-distance relationships (< 6 months).
  • Respondents in long-distance relationships lasting more than 6 months are 4.5 times more likely to struggle with managing schedules compared to respondents in long-distance relationships of less than 6 months.

From Situationship to Commitment

• Were you in a ‘situationship’ before you began your relationship?
  • Respondents in geographically close relationships are nearly twice as likely to have experienced a situationship before starting their relationship compared to long-distance couples.
• Before starting your relationship, how long were you and your partner in a 'situationship'?
  • Respondents in geographically close relationships are twice as likely to have spent 1-3 months in a situationship compared to respondents in long-distance relationships.

Keeping in Contact

• How often do you and your partner talk per day?
  • Respondents in geographically close relationships are 1.9 times more likely than long-distance couples to message each other constantly.
• How do you primarily stay in touch with your partner?
  • Long-distance couples who responded to Official’s survey who have been together less than 6 months are 3.7 times more likely to communicate primarily through texting than those in longer relationships.

Communication 

• How often do you discuss your friends with your partner?
  • Respondents in geographically close relationships are more than 2.2 times more likely to discuss friends frequently and 2.4 times more likely to know everything about each other’s friends compared to respondents in long-distance relationships.
• Do you ever gossip about your family to your partner?
  • Respondents in geographically close relationships are 2.3 times more likely to frequently gossip about family compared to those in long-distance relationships.

Milestone Experiences

• Have you and your partner ever taken a vacation together?
  • Couples that responded to Official’s survey who are in geographically close relationships are 1.8 times more likely to have taken a vacation together than respondents in long-distance relationships.
• Have you and/or your partner ever met each other’s family?
  • Respondents in geographically close relationships are more than 2.1 times more likely to have met each other’s family than respondents in long-distance relationships.

First Date Memories

• Where was your first date with your partner?
  • Respondents in geographically close relationships are twice as likely to have had their first date off-campus compared to respondents in long-distance relationships.
• What did you and your partner do for your first date?
  • Top 5 most common first-date activities shared by respondents:
    • Movie (17.22%)
    • Dinner (16.27%)
    • Park (7.18%)
    • Walk (7.18%)
    • Mall (5.26%)

Date Frequency and Preferences

• How often do you and your partner go on one-on-one dates?
  • Respondents in geographically close relationships are nearly 3 times more likely to go on one-on-one dates weekly or more than respondents in long-distance relationships.
• What type of dates do you enjoy the most with your partner?
  • Couples who responded to Official’s survey and who are in geographically close relationships are 2.2 times more likely to enjoy off-campus dates than respondents who are long-distance.
• What do you and your partner share the most in common?
  • Top 5 most common shared traits:
    • Sense of Humor (19.29%)
    • Values & Morals (15.74%)
    • Interests & Hobbies (11.68%)
    • Taste in Music (7.11%)
    • Future Goals (6.60%)

Arguments and Differences

• How often do you argue with your partner?
  • Respondents in geographically close relationships are 1.9 times more likely to report rarely arguing than respondents in long-distance relationships.
• What do you consider to be the biggest difference between you and your partner in your relationship?
  • Top 5 most common differences in respondents' relationships:
    • Family Dynamics (6.09%)
    • Future Goals (5.08%)
    • Upbringing (4.57%)
    • Career Plans (4.06%)
    • Hobbies & Interests (3.05%)

Shared Spaces

• Where do you spend the most time together?
  • Respondents in relationships over 6 months are 2.3 times more likely to spend time together at home and 5.7 times more likely to spend time on campus compared to respondents consisting of couples together for less than 6 months.

Survey Methodology: Based on a survey conducted by Official between October 17 - 19, 2024 with a sample of 1,053 Official members.

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About Official: Official is an app for couples, built to help them stay together. With Official's easy-to-use features, couples can plan the best dates, have the best sex, and be the best partners. Couples can build healthy relationship habits on the platform, and Official makes sure that they have fun while doing so. Since its beta launch on Valentine's Day in 2021, Official is now available in 46 countries and has reached #2 in Apple's App Store Lifestyle Category in the US. To learn more about what it means to get the Official app, visit https://www.getofficial.co/. 

Bumble Inc. is the parent company of Official, along with Bumble, Badoo, Bumble for Friends, Fruitz, and Geneva.

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