Tuesday 21 February 2012

The truth behind the success of online dating

As we move towards spring, those who are looking for love may be heartened by new research which suggests online dating sites are successful, but what does success actually mean?

Researchers at Drexel College of Information Science and Technology examined success stories from three well-known dating websites, from a two week period in spring 2011. 

Each of the three dating sites categorised their findings into three measures of success: dating, engagement and marriage. One online dating site revealed most of their success stories were related to dating, as opposed to marriage. For the other two sites the frequency of success stories increased from dating to marriage. 

It seems dating websites have different views of success depending on the goals of the site, so if you are looking for a life partner you need to look for a site that promotes finding a life partner rather than one that promotes having fun for the success data to be most meaningful to you.

The researchers also found that good old face-to-face social networks, rather than geographical location, influenced an individual's selection of an online dating site. This was particularly true if those known to them had success at online dating. 

So despite technology and the prevalence of social networking sites, it seems that social interaction in person is still an important factor in determining our use of technology and our selection of partner. 

First Psychology Scotland has centres in:
Edinburgh: 0131-668-1440, www.edinburghtherapy.co.uk
Glasgow: 0141-404-5411, www.glasgowpsychology.co.uk 

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