Study: Online Dating is Successful

(datelists.com - February 24, 2005) New research shows that online dating is a more successful way to find long-term romance and friendship than was previously thought. A new study of online dating site members has found that, when meeting for the first time, 94 percent of couples who had built up their relationship through e-mailing or chatting online went on to see each other again.

Suprisitingly,the study, by Dr Jeff Gavin, of the University of Bath, also found that men were more emotionally dependent on their ‘e-partners’ than women, and more committed to the relationship. Also among the survey’s findings were that exchanging gifts was the best way to ensure commitment in the relationship.

Other results from the online dating research show that:

- relationships that began online lasted for an average of at least seven months

- 18 per cent of these relationship lasted over a year.

- 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.

- exchanging gifts was the best way to ensure commitment in the relationship.

- the more the couple talked on the telephone before they met, the deeper the relationship.

- online daters rarely used webcams, which allow computer users to see one another

- online daters preferred the greater anonymity of writing and using the telephone

“This study shows that online dating can work for many people, leading to a successful meeting for almost everyone we surveyed,” said Dr Gavin. “Given that the most successful relationships lasted at least seven months, and in some case over a year, it seems that these relationships have a similar level of success as ones formed in more conventional ways.

“We found that men tend to be more committed to the online relationships than women, possibly because the anonymity of writing gives them a chance to express their emotions more readily than in real life.

“We also found that people are shying away from using webcams because they feel it’s important not see their partners for some time – there is something special about text-based relationships.”

Dr Gavin believes that the reason that using the telephone and online chatting indicates a deeper relationship is that these are methods of simultaneous communication, whereas e-mails are more formal.

About 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. Dr Gavin’s paper will be presented to a conference next month.