ONLINE
DATING NEWS #010
ONLINE DATING STUDY PRODUCES INTERESTING FINDINGS
(April 20, 2005 - onlinedatingnewsletter.com) A
recent study by Dr. Jeff Gavin, of the University of Bath,
has revealed several interesting facts about the online
dating industry. The most intriguing discovery of the study
is that online dating has become a much more successful
way to find long-term romance and friendship than was previously
thought. The study of online dating service members found
that 94 percent of those surveyed saw their 'e-partner'
again after first meeting them, and the relationships lasted
for an average of at least seven months, with 18 percent
of them lasting over a year.
Other findings of the study include:
> men online
were significantly more likely to be committed to the
relationship than women and were more
dependent on their 'e-partner'.
> the more
the couple engaged in simultaneous online chat before
meeting rather than simply e-mailing one
another, the more they were found to depend on one another
emotionally and the more they understood one another.
> those
who exchanged gifts before meeting had a more committed
and deeper relationship.
> the more
the couple talked on the telephone before they met,
the deeper the relationship.
> people
using the Internet rarely used webcams, which allow
computer users to see one another, because
they preferred the greater anonymity of writing and using
the telephone.
For the study, Dr Gavin, with Dr Adrian Scott of the University
of Bath and Dr Jill Duffield of the University of the West
of England, carried out an online survey of 229 people,
aged 18 to 65, who have used UK internet dating sites,
asking them about their main relationship that they had
had online. Of the relationships, 39 percent were still
going on at the time of the survey, and of these 24 percent
had been going for at least a year, and eight percent for
at least two years. Of the relationships that had already
ended at the time of the survey, 14 percent had lasted
over a year, and four percent had lasted over two years.
