2008 Woodie Awards
Online dating opens new doors for singles
Kate Stickelmaier, Daily Vidette Senior Staff
Issue date: 2/7/08 Section: Valentines Day Guide 2008
Subscriptions to online dating services have been on the rise in the past couple of years, making them one of the newest and simplest ways to find that perfect someone.
According to a recent report issued by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, based on telephone interviews conducted with a national representative sample of 3,215 adults, the 3 percent of participants reported meeting their partner through the Internet.
The report also stated, according to Susan Sprecher, professor of anthropology and sociology, that 37 percent of the single adults in the sample had gone to a dating website or other online location to meet people and 15 percent knew of someone who was in a marriage or other long-term relationship that began online.
"These percents may not seem high, but they were, of course, zero percent a few years ago, and they translate to thousands and even millions of people," Sprecher said.
Amy Canaday, media spokesperson for Chemistry.com attributes the increase in online dating registrations to the new campaigns that companies, such as Match.com, the parent company of Chemistry.com, are launching.
"We see anyone and everyone 18 and older," Canaday said. "We're definitely seeing an increase in the amount of young people signing up since we put out a new campaign last year, so we're really excited about that."
While Sprecher says that although dating services would be unlikely to be used by young college students because they are surrounded by potential partners, it is likely to vary from one dating service to another because some services tend to or are designed to appeal to a general population or one particular demographic or age group.
"I believe the fastest growing group of users of Internet dating services are people over 50 years of age, but people in their 20s and 30s may still be the more common users of Internet dating services," Sprecher explained.
Where individuals are in their lives or careers can have an affect on the amount of people interested in finding a potential love match online.
According to a recent report issued by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, based on telephone interviews conducted with a national representative sample of 3,215 adults, the 3 percent of participants reported meeting their partner through the Internet.
The report also stated, according to Susan Sprecher, professor of anthropology and sociology, that 37 percent of the single adults in the sample had gone to a dating website or other online location to meet people and 15 percent knew of someone who was in a marriage or other long-term relationship that began online.
"These percents may not seem high, but they were, of course, zero percent a few years ago, and they translate to thousands and even millions of people," Sprecher said.
Amy Canaday, media spokesperson for Chemistry.com attributes the increase in online dating registrations to the new campaigns that companies, such as Match.com, the parent company of Chemistry.com, are launching.
"We see anyone and everyone 18 and older," Canaday said. "We're definitely seeing an increase in the amount of young people signing up since we put out a new campaign last year, so we're really excited about that."
While Sprecher says that although dating services would be unlikely to be used by young college students because they are surrounded by potential partners, it is likely to vary from one dating service to another because some services tend to or are designed to appeal to a general population or one particular demographic or age group.
"I believe the fastest growing group of users of Internet dating services are people over 50 years of age, but people in their 20s and 30s may still be the more common users of Internet dating services," Sprecher explained.
Where individuals are in their lives or careers can have an affect on the amount of people interested in finding a potential love match online.
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sasa
posted 2/21/08 @ 2:29 AM CST
yea, that's cool. There are kinds of niche dating sites for kinds of people. For millionaires, for nudists, for BBW&BHW, for deafs....haha, I do enjoy casual dating, that makes me happy and wild! Luckly I joined casualpal. (Continued…)
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