Everyone in the dating game spends untold time, money, and emotional energy trying to find a nice person to chill with on the couch while you both actually watch Netflix — but somehow, most of us still feel like we're striking out constantly.
Shouldn't there be a better way?
Well, yes: There's no reason to fly blind. Luckily, because of the ubiquity of dating (and researchers' enduring fondness for studying all varieties of mating dances), we have a huge bounty of research to draw on. That means thousands and thousands of study subjects have made all kinds of dating mistakes so that you and I don't have to.
These studies, surveys, and experts can help us all figure out what works — and maybe even up our chances. With the caveats that some of these findings are difficult to generalize and none of this advice will help you meet your soulmate tomorrow, here are seven science-backed dating tips.