How Alexa, your computer, and even your sex robot can affect your love life

It's almost Valentine's Day, and it appears sex robots are gonna make Cupid's job a lot harder.

That's just one of the fascinating insights found in Match's eighth annual Singles in America report, released Thursday. The results of this representative survey of 5,000 people tell us a ton about the modern dating experience.

Though the report covers a range of topics – from politics to social media to offline dating – it offers fascinating insights into the ways we relate to technology. Match found that the gadgets we surround ourselves with have taken on a surprising role in our love lives – whether we want them to or not.

Let's start with the tech in your home. Per Match's survey, some (slightly classist) turn-offs:

• 81 percent of women and 68 percent of men are turned off by those who don't have internet.

• 73 percent of women and 63 percent of men are turned off by those who don't own a computer.

• 78 percent of all singles (but women, mostly) are turned off by those who, uh, borrow their neighbor's internet connection.

Weirdly, you're in luck if you happen to have a home assistant. The survey found that owning a Google Home or Alexa is a turn-on for 61 percent of singles.

"But...why?" you're undoubtedly wondering.

As Helen Fisher, Match's chief scientific adviser and a biological anthropologist, told Mashable: "I think it shows that you’re more intellectual, that you’ve got enough money to purchase these things, that you know how to set them up, and you’ve got a place that’s wired for the 21st century."

Now let's move to tech you probably don't have in your home: Match's survey found that 31 percent of men and 15 percent of women would have sex with a robot.

"That doesn’t surprise me," said Fisher. "People tend to be curious and want to try new things at least once. What astounded me was the number of people who regard it as cheating."

Indeed, 56 percent of women and 39 percent of men would consider a partner having sex with a robot a form of infidelity.

"I really had to think about that as an anthropologist," said Fisher. "Why is a robot any different from any other kind of sexual device that you use to make yourself have an orgasm. Would they be also jealous of a vibrator?"

She settled on a few theories. The first: that in the same way we fear being replaced by robots in our jobs, we fear being replaced by robots in our personal lives, too where the stakes are higher. A new job is always out there, but a new partner may not be.

And second: that a robot might cause jealousy in a relationship because, if used by just one partner, it denies the other partner the pleasure of "physical intimacy" with the one they love and the dopamine rush associated with sex.

"We don’t always know what we’re gonna get, and this one was very interesting for me personally because it says a lot about the human brain," said Fisher. "It basically says that sex is more than just sex. It is intimacy, it's connection, it's attachment, it's romance – and more than just a doll, your partner is denying you of some profoundly basic human feelings of romance, attachment, and joy."

Most sex robots are still prohibitively expensive, meaning we're unlikely to encounter a real, bot-induced dating crisis in the immediate future. Still, Match's report certainly makes it clear that the sextech industry will continue to complicate our love lives long into the future.

You can read more from the Singles in America report here.