{ "schema": "bumis-network/catalog@1", "site": { "host": "singleinyour50s.com", "name": "Single in Your 50s", "description": "Whether you are newly single or have been for years: clear, practical writing about what you want next.", "audience": "single" }, "publisher": { "name": "BUMIS", "url": "https://getbumis.com", "description": "BUMIS: Your Dating Mirror, a private app for seeing your own dating patterns." }, "articles": [ { "url": "https://singleinyour50s.com/single-in-your-50s/dating-online-in-your-50s-safely/", "title": "How do you date online safely in your 50s?", "summary": "Go slowly, meet in public, keep money out of it, and treat any request for money from someone you have not met as a scam.", "section": "single-in-your-50s", "author": "BUMIS Editorial", "reviewer": null, "published": "2026-10-01", "updated": "2026-10-01", "canonical": "https://singleinyour50s.com/single-in-your-50s/dating-online-in-your-50s-safely/", "sources": [ { "title": "How Americans 50 and older use online dating sites and apps", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/07/17/dating-at-50-and-up-older-americans-experiences-with-online-dating/", "publisher": "Pew Research Center", "date": "2023-07", "supports": "17% of Americans 50 and older have used a dating site or app; 47% of online daters 50 and older say they encountered someone they thought was trying to scam them (52% of those 50 to 64); survey of 6,034 U.S. adults, July 5 to 17, 2022." }, { "title": "What To Know About Romance Scams", "url": "https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-romance-scams", "publisher": "Federal Trade Commission", "supports": "Scammers say they cannot meet in person and ask for money in hard-to-reverse ways (wire transfer, gift cards, cryptocurrency); nobody legitimate will ask you to send money that way, and anyone who does is a scammer; report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and contact your bank or payment company." }, { "title": "Romance scammers' favorite lies exposed", "url": "https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/data-visualizations/data-spotlight/2023/02/romance-scammers-favorite-lies-exposed", "publisher": "Federal Trade Commission (Data Spotlight)", "date": "2023-02", "supports": "In 2022, nearly 70,000 people reported a romance scam to the FTC, with $1.3 billion in reported losses and a median loss of $4,400; 40% of those who lost money said contact began on social media, 19% on a website or app; most common lies included a sick or jailed friend or relative, investment advice, and being in the military." }, { "title": "Romance Scams", "url": "https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-frauds-and-scams/romance-scams", "publisher": "Federal Bureau of Investigation", "supports": "Never send money to anyone you have only communicated with online or by phone; be suspicious if you have not met after a few months; beware of attempts to isolate you from friends and family or requests for inappropriate photos or financial information; report to ic3.gov." }, { "title": "2024 IC3 Annual Report", "url": "https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2024_IC3Report.pdf", "publisher": "FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center", "date": "2025-04", "supports": "In 2024, 7,626 people over 60 reported about $389 million in losses to confidence/romance scams to IC3." }, { "title": "How to Protect Yourself Against Online Romance Scams", "url": "https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/romance/", "publisher": "AARP Fraud Watch Network", "supports": "Warning signs include fast-moving relationships, requests to move off the platform, and repeated excuses not to meet; do a reverse image search; free AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline 877-908-3360 (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern)." } ] }, { "url": "https://singleinyour50s.com/dating-at-this-age/first-date-questions-in-your-50s/", "title": "What questions should you ask on a first date in your 50s?", "summary": "Ask open questions about their life now and what they want next, then ask a follow-up to whatever they actually say. Research finds the follow-up is what makes people like talking to you.", "section": "dating-at-this-age", "author": "BUMIS Editorial", "reviewer": null, "published": "2026-10-01", "updated": "2026-10-01", "canonical": "https://singleinyour50s.com/dating-at-this-age/first-date-questions-in-your-50s/", "sources": [ { "title": "It doesn't hurt to ask: Question-asking increases liking", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000097", "publisher": "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (American Psychological Association)", "date": "2017-09", "supports": "Across studies of live get-to-know-you chats (more than 600 online chat participants) and 110 speed daters, people who asked more questions, especially follow-up questions, were better liked; speed daters who asked more follow-up questions were more likely to get a second date; askers were seen as more responsive (listening, understanding, validation and care)." }, { "title": "The experimental generation of interpersonal closeness: A procedure and some preliminary findings", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167297234003", "publisher": "Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin", "date": "1997", "supports": "Over about 45 minutes, pairs of strangers took turns on self-disclosure tasks that gradually escalated in intensity (the source of the '36 questions'); they reported more closeness afterward than pairs given comparable small-talk tasks. The aim was temporary closeness in a lab, not romance." }, { "title": "Taking turns: Reciprocal self-disclosure promotes liking in initial interactions", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2013.03.017", "publisher": "Journal of Experimental Social Psychology", "date": "2013", "supports": "Unacquainted undergraduate pairs who took turns asking and disclosing reported more liking, closeness, perceived similarity and enjoyment than pairs in which one person did all the disclosing first and then they switched." }, { "title": "Swapping small talk with strangers for deeper dialogue offers surprising rewards", "url": "https://news.utexas.edu/2021/11/18/swapping-small-talk-with-strangers-for-deeper-dialogue-offers-surprising-rewards/", "publisher": "UT News, University of Texas at Austin (reporting Kardas, Kumar and Epley, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology)", "date": "2021-11", "supports": "Across experiments, strangers who had deeper conversations felt happier and more connected than after shallow ones, and the conversations were less awkward than participants expected, because people underestimated how much others would care about what they shared." }, { "title": "Dating at 50 and up: Older Americans' experiences with online dating", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/07/17/dating-at-50-and-up-older-americans-experiences-with-online-dating/", "publisher": "Pew Research Center", "date": "2023-07", "supports": "About half of adults 50 and older who have dated online in the past year cite meeting a long-term partner or spouse as a major reason, and 36% cite wanting to date casually; survey of U.S. adults conducted July 5 to 17, 2022." }, { "title": "A profile of single Americans", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/08/20/a-profile-of-single-americans/", "publisher": "Pew Research Center", "date": "2020-08", "supports": "Half of single adults ages 50 to 64 and three-quarters of those 65 and older say they are not looking for a relationship or dates; survey of 4,860 U.S. adults, October 2019." } ] }, { "url": "https://singleinyour50s.com/dating-at-this-age/spot-a-romance-scam/", "title": "How do you spot a romance scam before it costs you?", "summary": "Watch for a pattern, not a single moment: fast love, no live video, a push to leave the dating site, then a crisis that needs money. Once money comes up from someone you haven't met in person, stop and verify before you send anything.", "section": "dating-at-this-age", "author": "BUMIS Editorial", "reviewer": null, "published": "2026-10-01", "updated": "2026-10-01", "canonical": "https://singleinyour50s.com/dating-at-this-age/spot-a-romance-scam/", "sources": [ { "title": "What To Know About Romance Scams", "url": "https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-romance-scams", "publisher": "Federal Trade Commission (Consumer Advice)", "supports": "Scammers soon want to email, call or message off the dating platform, say it is true love, say they cannot meet in person (overseas, oil rig, military, international organization), then ask for money for medical expenses, travel tickets, visas or fees; they ask for wires, gift cards with PIN codes, money transfer apps or cryptocurrency; never send money or gifts to a sweetheart you have not met in person; only scammers tell you to buy gift cards, wire money or buy cryptocurrency; report to ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the site or app." }, { "title": "Romance scammers' favorite lies exposed (Data Spotlight)", "url": "https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/data-visualizations/data-spotlight/2023/02", "publisher": "Federal Trade Commission", "date": "2023-02", "supports": "In 2022, nearly 70,000 people reported a romance scam to the FTC, with $1.3 billion in reported losses and a median reported loss of $4,400; 40% of reports said contact started on social media; cryptocurrency and bank wires accounted for more than 60% of reported romance scam losses; 24% of people who reported losing money said they paid with gift cards; a sick, hurt or jailed friend or relative was the most common lie, in nearly a quarter of reports." }, { "title": "2025 Internet Crime Report", "url": "https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2025_IC3Report.pdf", "publisher": "FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)", "date": "2026-04", "supports": "In 2025, IC3 received 23,159 confidence/romance fraud complaints with about $929 million in reported losses." }, { "title": "Criminals Use Generative Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Financial Fraud (Alert I-120324-PSA)", "url": "https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2024/PSA241203", "publisher": "FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)", "date": "2024-12", "supports": "Criminals use AI-generated images for fake profiles in romance schemes and create AI-generated video for real-time video chats and private messages to 'prove' an online contact is a real person." }, { "title": "FBI Norfolk Warns of Romance Scams, Urges Public to Recognize Red Flags Ahead of Valentine's Day", "url": "https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/norfolk/news/fbi-norfolk-warns-of-romance-scams-urges-public-to-recognize-red-flags-ahead-of-valentines-day", "publisher": "Federal Bureau of Investigation", "supports": "Red flags include professing strong feelings or love very quickly, avoiding meeting in person or video chatting, repeatedly delayed meetings, claims of living or working overseas, requests for money for emergencies or investments, requests for gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers or prepaid cards, and pressure to keep the relationship or requests secret; never send money to someone you have not met in person; talk to a trusted friend or family member first; report at ic3.gov." }, { "title": "Dating at 50 and up: Older Americans' experiences with online dating", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/07/17/dating-at-50-and-up-older-americans-experiences-with-online-dating/", "publisher": "Pew Research Center", "date": "2023-07", "supports": "47% of online daters 50 and older say they have encountered someone they thought was trying to scam them, including 52% of those ages 50 to 64 and 39% of those 65 and older; survey conducted July 2022." }, { "title": "New trends in reports of imposter scams", "url": "https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2026/05/new-trends-reports-imposter-scams", "publisher": "Federal Trade Commission (Consumer Alert)", "date": "2026-05", "supports": "Romance scammers build a relationship over time, then the conversation turns to money and they offer to help you invest yours; do not send money to someone you have never met in person." } ] } ], "experts": [ { "name": "Bella DePaulo", "labels": [ "Credentialed source" ], "profiles": [ { "platform": "X", "handle": "@belladepaulo", "url": "https://x.com/belladepaulo" } ], "credential": "Social psychologist (PhD, Harvard); academic affiliate, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, UC Santa Barbara", "credentialSource": "https://news.ucsb.edu/2024/021352/embracing-single-life-love-intimacy-and-family-beyond-couple", "focus": "Research and writing on single life, including people who choose to stay single and live full lives on their own terms.", "lastChecked": "2026-10-01", "sites": [ "datingpatterns.com", "singleinyour20s.com", "singleinyour30.com", "singleinyour40s.com", "singleinyour50s.com", "singleinyour60s.com" ] }, { "name": "Esther Perel", "labels": [ "Trending voice" ], "profiles": [ { "platform": "Instagram", "handle": "@estherperelofficial", "url": "https://www.instagram.com/estherperelofficial/" }, { "platform": "TikTok", "handle": "@estherperel_official", "url": "https://www.tiktok.com/@estherperel_official" } ], "credential": null, "credentialSource": null, "focus": "Desire, infidelity and the tensions inside long term relationships, often through real couples sessions on her podcast.", "lastChecked": "2026-10-01", "sites": [ "datingpatterns.com", "datinginyour30s.com", "datinginyour40s.com", "singleinyour50s.com", "datingagainafterdivorce.com" ] }, { "name": "Kate Anthony", "labels": [ "Trending voice" ], "profiles": [ { "platform": "Instagram", "handle": "@thedivorcesurvivalguide", "url": "https://www.instagram.com/thedivorcesurvivalguide/" }, { "platform": "TikTok", "handle": "@thedivorcesurvivalguide", "url": "https://www.tiktok.com/@thedivorcesurvivalguide" } ], "credential": null, "credentialSource": null, "focus": "Coaching and podcast conversations for women deciding whether to stay in or leave a marriage, and rebuilding life after divorce.", "lastChecked": "2026-10-01", "sites": [ "datingpatterns.com", "datingagainafterdivorce.com", "datinginyour40s.com", "singleinyour40s.com", "singleinyour50s.com" ] }, { "name": "Marisa G. Franco", "labels": [ "Credentialed source" ], "profiles": [ { "platform": "Instagram", "handle": "@drmarisagfranco", "url": "https://www.instagram.com/drmarisagfranco/" } ], "credential": "Licensed counseling psychologist; PhD in Counseling Psychology, University of Maryland, where she teaches", "credentialSource": "https://universityhonors.umd.edu/marisa-franco", "focus": "Friendship, loneliness and belonging, and how adults make and keep close friends.", "lastChecked": "2026-10-01", "sites": [ "datingpatterns.com", "singleinyour20s.com", "singleinyour30.com", "singleinyour40s.com", "singleinyour50s.com", "singleinyour60s.com" ] }, { "name": "Pepper Schwartz", "labels": [ "Credentialed source" ], "profiles": [ { "platform": "Instagram", "handle": "@dr_pepper_schwartz", "url": "https://www.instagram.com/dr_pepper_schwartz/" } ], "credential": "Sociologist (PhD, Yale); Professor Emerita of Sociology, University of Washington", "credentialSource": "https://soc.washington.edu/people/pepper-schwartz", "focus": "Research and writing on love, sex and relationships, including dating and partnership later in life.", "lastChecked": "2026-10-01", "sites": [ "datingpatterns.com", "singleinyour50s.com", "singleinyour60s.com", "datinginyour40s.com", "singleinyour40s.com", "datingagainafterdivorce.com" ] }, { "name": "Paul C. Brunson", "labels": [ "Trending voice" ], "profiles": [ { "platform": "Instagram", "handle": "@paulcbrunson", "url": "https://www.instagram.com/paulcbrunson/" }, { "platform": "TikTok", "handle": "@paulcbrunson", "url": "https://www.tiktok.com/@paulcbrunson" } ], "credential": null, "credentialSource": null, "focus": "Matchmaker, TV host and author who talks about finding and keeping love, modern dating trends, and relationships at every stage of life.", "lastChecked": "2026-10-01", "sites": [ "datingpatterns.com", "datinginyour30s.com", "datinginyour40s.com", "singleinyour40s.com", "singleinyour50s.com", "datingagainafterdivorce.com" ] } ], "figures": [ { "id": "apps-50-64", "value": "20%", "statement": "of adults ages 50 to 64 have ever used a dating site or app.", "source": { "publisher": "Pew Research Center", "title": "The who, where and why of online dating in the U.S.", "year": "2023", "sample": "6,034 U.S. adults, July 2022", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/02/02/the-who-where-and-why-of-online-dating-in-the-u-s/" } }, { "id": "ai-genx", "value": "24%", "statement": "of Gen X singles have used AI in their dating lives.", "source": { "publisher": "Kinsey Institute and Match, Singles in America", "title": "15th annual Singles in America study", "year": "2026", "sample": "About 5,000 U.S. singles", "url": "https://mtch.com/news/match-unveils-15th-annual-singles-in-america-study/" } }, { "id": "not-looking", "value": "Half", "statement": "of single U.S. adults are not looking for a relationship or dates right now.", "source": { "publisher": "Pew Research Center", "title": "A profile of single Americans", "year": "2020", "sample": "U.S. adults, 2019 survey", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/08/20/a-profile-of-single-americans/" } }, { "id": "burnout", "value": "78%", "statement": "of recent dating app users have felt burned out by the apps at least sometimes.", "source": { "publisher": "Forbes Health and OnePoll", "title": "Dating app burnout survey", "year": "2024", "sample": "1,000 U.S. adults who used a dating app in the past year", "url": "https://www.forbes.com/health/dating/dating-app-fatigue/" } } ], "reading": [ { "title": "5 facts about single Americans for Valentine's Day", "url": "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/02/08/for-valentines-day-5-facts-about-single-americans/", "publisher": "Pew Research Center", "author": null, "year": "2023", "section": "single-in-your-50s", "why": "Quick, reliable numbers on single adults, including how many in midlife are not looking to date.", "lastChecked": "2026-10-01" }, { "title": "What to Do When Love Breaks Your Heart", "url": "https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_to_do_when_love_breaks_your_heart", "publisher": "Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley", "author": null, "year": null, "section": "post-breakup-loneliness", "why": "Research-backed ways to ease heartbreak, from reducing stress to leaning on social connection.", "lastChecked": "2026-10-01" }, { "title": "Four Reasons to Stay Single", "url": "https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/four_reasons_to_stay_single", "publisher": "Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley", "author": null, "year": null, "section": "what-you-want-next", "why": "Makes the evidence-based case that a single life can be full, which helps clarify what you actually want.", "lastChecked": "2026-10-01" }, { "title": "How to Succeed at Dating in Your 50s", "url": "https://www.aarp.org/family-relationships/rules-for-dating-in-50s/", "publisher": "AARP", "author": null, "year": null, "section": "dating-at-this-age", "why": "Practical advice on how dating in your 50s differs and how to approach it with realistic expectations.", "lastChecked": "2026-10-01" }, { "title": "What To Know About Romance Scams", "url": "https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-romance-scams", "publisher": "Federal Trade Commission", "author": null, "year": null, "section": "dating-at-this-age", "why": "The warning signs of romance scams and what to do if someone you met online asks for money.", "lastChecked": "2026-10-01" }, { "title": "Your child's adjustment to your new romantic relationship", "url": "https://extension.umn.edu/divorce-and-other-family-transitions/your-childs-adjustment-your-new-romantic-relationship", "publisher": "University of Minnesota Extension", "author": null, "year": null, "section": "family-and-freedom", "why": "How children of any age may react to a parent's new partner, and how to pace the introduction.", "lastChecked": "2026-10-01" } ], "quiz": { "url": "https://singleinyour50s.com/quiz/", "axes": [ { "id": "pace", "low": "Slow", "high": "Fast" }, { "id": "certainty", "low": "Easy with not knowing", "high": "Needs to know" }, { "id": "pull", "low": "Drawn to new", "high": "Drawn to familiar" }, { "id": "exit", "low": "Lets go", "high": "Holds on" } ], "results": [ { "id": "full-speed", "name": "Full Speed", "summary": "You feel it early and you let yourself run with it.", "url": "https://singleinyour50s.com/quiz/full-speed/" }, { "id": "slow-burn", "name": "Slow Burn", "summary": "You wait until you are sure, and you are rarely sure early.", "url": "https://singleinyour50s.com/quiz/slow-burn/" }, { "id": "clear-sky", "name": "Clear Sky", "summary": "Not knowing where you stand is the hardest part for you.", "url": "https://singleinyour50s.com/quiz/clear-sky/" }, { "id": "open-ended", "name": "Open Ended", "summary": "You are comfortable letting things stay undefined.", "url": "https://singleinyour50s.com/quiz/open-ended/" }, { "id": "home-pull", "name": "Home Pull", "summary": "You are drawn to a feeling you already know.", "url": "https://singleinyour50s.com/quiz/home-pull/" }, { "id": "new-horizon", "name": "New Horizon", "summary": "You go looking for something different each time.", "url": "https://singleinyour50s.com/quiz/new-horizon/" }, { "id": "long-goodbye", "name": "Long Goodbye", "summary": "You stay past the point where it stopped working.", "url": "https://singleinyour50s.com/quiz/long-goodbye/" }, { "id": "clean-break", "name": "Clean Break", "summary": "When it is over, you are gone.", "url": "https://singleinyour50s.com/quiz/clean-break/" }, { "id": "even-keel", "name": "Even Keel", "summary": "No single lean stands out in your answers.", "url": "https://singleinyour50s.com/quiz/even-keel/" } ] } }