(Newswire.net — June 13, 2016) — Online dating is on the rise, and has been steadily growing in popularity for the last decade! A new study conducted by Pew Research Center found that 15% of American adults have at some point made use of an online dating website or dating app. Just three short years ago, in 2013, this number was much lower at just 9%. The increase is attributed to many factors, including a decrease in the social stigma attached to online dating, the advancement of digital and smartphone technology, and the number of dating websites with eligible matches that are now widely available. Online dating has quickly become one of the leading ways that Americans find romantic relationships.
Broken down, the number of American adults who have utilized a dating website is 12% (this number is up from 9% in 2013). Dating apps, on the other hand, have been used by 9% of Americans (this is three times the number found in 2013).
A whopping 29% of Americans now know someone who met their long term partner though an online dating site. It will be incredibly interesting to see how these numbers grow in the next three years as technology continues to advance and as online dating continues to grow as an accepted avenue for meeting a partner.
The greatest rise in online dating is within the 18 to 24-year-old age bracket, with 27% of those polled from this age group having taken part in online dating in some form. This translates to more than one out of four individuals who are using online dating websites or apps for romantic purposes. The number has practically tripped from 2013.
Another age bracket that has seen significant growth in online dating numbers is the 55 to 64-year-old group. Finding a partner is often difficult after a divorce or the death of a spouse, re-entering the dating pool can be an intimidating process. Online dating provides a bridge for finding like-minded partners looking for something similar in the same age group.
Pew Research Center conducted their first study of this nature in 2005, over a decade ago, and it is fascinating to see how the numbers have changed. Exposure to online dating by most Americans was very limited at that time. Few people knew someone who met a partner online, and when it happened it was frowned upon and viewed as desperate. Views have certainly been altered in the past 11 years.
The reception surrounding online dating is overwhelmingly positive now, with little stigma being attached to online dating compared to the stigma attached in the past. 80% of polled adults who have used some form of online dating agree that “online dating is a good way to meet people.” In 2005, only 44% of adults polled believed that it was a good way to meet people, and 29% expressed that “people who use online dating sites are desperate.” Overall, online dating is widely accepted as a legitimate, positive, and culturally significant way to meet a romantic partner.
References:
http://www.rttnews.com/2658646/americans-especially-young-people-try-online-dating.aspx
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/29/5-facts-about-online-dating/