The stakes have never been so high, you guys.

Hey, everyone.

Laci Green here.

It's been a while since we talked about online dating here

on DNews, but a new study that's getting some attention

caught my eye.

Scientists are claiming that-- prepare yourself

for this one-- online daters with an income of over $150,000

per year get a crap load more messages from potential dates.

For men, they were 82% more likely to get messages

if they made over $150K than if they made $20K,

and for women, they were 65% percent more likely,

which suggests that money can in fact,

buy you love because all everyone wants in life

is a sugar mama or a daddy.

If you don't make 150K per year, have no worries.

Most people don't including the people that are claiming to.

In analysis on OkCupid found the average person lies

about their income by as much as 20%, so in reality,

most of these folks are probably making closer to $120,000

per year.

The analysis found that the exaggeration becomes

more pronounced as you get older and that men

are more likely to lie than women.

The other reason you shouldn't worry

is that you don't have to be in the top 5% of earners

in the country to succeed in online dating.

We found that starting around $80,000 a year,

you'll start to get a lot more messages than all

the lower income brackets.

The folks who are most screwed are

those who make $40,000 or lower because that's

when the messages really start to drop off.

So what are some of the other groups that

have a winning edge in the online dating world?

Well, being white certainly helps if you're a man.

OkCupid found that white men lead

the way in the number of messages they receive compared

to every other race of men.

For women, those of Asian descent

lead the way in messages received.

An analysis of two million users on PlentyofFish

found that it's very advantageous

to describe yourself as having an athletic build.

This improves responses by about 40%.

Also being Christian or Catholic improve responses by about 30%.

Overall though, the greatest advantage

is to have those dollars, which gives me

all kinds of mixed feelings.

I mean, what happened to the best thing in life are free,

and you can't buy my love?

I guess those mantras will have to stick the Hallmark cards.

So why is this so trying to begin with?

Evolutionary psychologists say that class and income

are valuable traits in a mate because it tells us

about how much resources someone has.

The argument goes that the more resources, the better they're

able to care for their offspring.

They can put a roof over their kid's head, food on the table,

send them to college, and essentially ensure

that their children too will have

lots of resources, aka, money.

So maybe there's something there or maybe

we've all been convinced by our money-driven culture

that we'd be happier if we have a giant house and fancy cars,

which is [? oblique ?] disputed by scientists,

but that's a story for a different day.

Thanks for joining me for DNews, guys.

How much does income matter to you when you date?

Let me know your thoughts down below,

and I'll catch you next time.