Study: One-Third Of Recent Marriages Occurred Between Online Courtships
June 4, 2013 11:01 AM
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (CBS Connecticut) - A new study offered by researchers at the University of Chicago and reviewed by a team at Harvard University shows that a third of recent marriages happen between couples who met online.
For the study, researchers examined a sampling of marriages of over 19,000 people that occurred between 2005 and 2012.
Of the couples that participated, the research teams found that 35 percent of those marriages occurred between couples who found one another through the Internet.
The type of sites that connected the future spouses varied, U.S. News & World Report learned. Approximately half of those who met online did so through dating sites such as Match.com and eHarmony.
Out of the other half, 20 percent reportedly met through social networking sites, including Twitter and Facebook, while 15 percent met through communication-based online mediums such as email and chat rooms.
The study also found that those who met online were less likely to get divorced.
“These data suggest that the Internet may be altering the dynamics and outcomes of marriage itself,” lead author John Cacioppo was quoted as saying in a statement obtained by the magazine.
Researchers reportedly found that the majority of new spouses still meet through offline means, including the 21 percent who met at work, the 19 percent who met through mutual friends, and the 10 percent who met at school.
....
