New Study Says Meeting Online Leads to Happier + Longer Marriages
For all of you who have hated on online dating before even trying it (though you know you secretly want to), well, let’s just say there’s a reason for you to change your mind.
A new study done by the University of Chicago shows that couples who met online had a lower divorce rate and rated their marriages as more solid than those who met by non-technological means.
Something that I personally know to be true through my ample research writing Internet Dating 101: It’s Complicated, But It Doesn’t Have to Be is that more than half of modern-day marriages (2005-2012) began through an online dating site.
For those who want to see some tangible proof, pick up Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, where the findings were published. Yes, the study was commissioned by dating mega-site eHarmony.com, but so what? That doesn’t mean the results are any less true.
So this is what the U of C broke down: more than 19,000 individuals were interviewed about the state of their marriages, how they met their partners and how happy they were in said marriages. 45% of those polled met their honey online, which the remaining 55% were divided among traditional outlets like work, bars, school and church. There’s a joke in there somewhere about bars and church, but I’ll leave it be for now.
But here is where the study gets really good: those who met online only had a 6% breakup ratio. BOOM!
I suppose there’s something to that, as online dating is a lot like shopping. It’s a process. You put everything out there about yourself and hope that others will do the same. If smoking is one of your deal breakers, then fine. You filter those people out. Got a thing for blondes? Bye bye gingers and brunettes! It’s that simple.
Yes, there are always those who cheat the system and lie about themselves, and yes, you do become slightly pickier because, like shopping, choosing a life partner should be an investment, just like that $350,000 Birkin bag you’ve been wait-listed for for the last six years.
And really – if it’s proven that something can make you happier, isn’t it your duty to at least try it?
