There’s a stereotype, fostered by movies like “Cocoon” and shows like “The Golden Girls,” that dating gets more difficult as you age.

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But the truth is, the grown-up dating game has never been so interesting. There are more players than ever before: higher divorce rates, longer life spans and a greater tendency to never marry. All these combine to churn out more single Americans than at any other time in the country’s history.

More than 15% of singles who aren't dating say they'd start right now – if they could meet the right person," said Steve Slon, editor of AARP The Magazine.

Who're you calling senior?

It’s actually somewhat complicated. AARP membership is available for those 50 years and over. I think that younger people (under 30) consider this senior, but it’solder people tend to consider 62-65 as the beginning of the senior years. Of course, most senior discounts are available to people 59 and over. For the purposes of this article, let's look at 60+ years as a compromise to this issue.

What do seniors want?

This is another complicated question. Research recently conducted by TRUE and soon to be published in Psychological Reports reveals that young and old age groups parallel each other in terms of their readiness to commit to a romantic relationship. People between 18 and 34 tend to not score highly on readiness to commit. This makes sense. Most young people are having fun playing the field and enjoying their personal freedom and independence. Those over 60 show to also have a decreased readiness to commit. Overall people in this group want personal freedom and independence. In between, people from 35 to 60, are in a “nesting” phase – looking to settle down.

AARP also notes:

• The major reason for senior dating is to have someone to talk to or do things with (49 percent). The second major reason is to simply have fun (18 percent). Although a small minority, five times as many men (11 percent) as women (2 percent) say that their major reason for dating is to fulfill sexual needs.
• Women look more for a pleasing personality and sense of humor, common interests, and personal or moral and religious values in a date. Financial stability is also important for many women.
• Men also want these, in addition to wanting physically attractive dates and sexual activity. Men are also more open to dating and trying more things to meet these wants.
• Most midlife and older men want to date younger women. Many midlife and older women, by choice or need, want to date younger men, ironically making men and women’s age preference in dates generally incompatible. However, life is obviously not all about the opposite sex and sex, because the majority of both men and women still have a bright outlook on life and the future.
• The majority, especially men, would date someone with a different religion, someone who is less educated, and someone with less money.

What it comes down to is this: Seniors enjoy and value independence, but wish to augment that freedom of activity with the companionship of a dating partner. Yet, a dating partner need not have strong romantic connotations.

The senior advantage

Older people, who no longer are concerned with raising children, may now look for a completely different type of partner – one with whom they feel they can enjoy things with and possibly even grow old. Still, many of the issues that existed for dating when younger remain the same (for example, “Will he like me?” “Will she think I’m too old?” or “Will we like the same kind of music?”). One of the biggest differences between dating in your 20s vs. your 60s is experience. Infatuation gives way to instinct, which makes the interpersonal aspects of dating easier.

It should be mentioned that there’s a dating obstacle senior women almost exclusively face: They live longer. While the differences are relatively minor for those ages 55 through 64 (when there are 92 men for every 100 women), the differences become more dramatic as men die and women thrive.

The bottom line: Dating in the senior years is similar to dating in the younger years – except that seniors have the benefits of life experience, increased knowledge of self, and arguably more clarity about what they want out of life and the motivations for companionship.

Learn more now

Take our free TRUE Compatibility Test (TCT) to learn more about yourself and your ideal partner. You’ll receive a free 30-page personality report that explains how your traits, attitudes and abilities influence your connections with others. For more expert tips on building a great relationship click here.