Is Online Better Than Offline for Meeting Partners? Depends: Are You Looking to Marry or to Date?

Abstract

Previous studies that compared differences in the outcomes of relationships that begin online compared to traditional offline venues have primarily looked at marital relationships. The present study extends this investigation by including non-marital relationships in the comparison. It further investigates if the breakup rate of relationships (both marital and non-marital) varies as a result of meeting online versus offline, and if other factors outside of the meeting venue predict relationship dissolution. Data are used from Waves I, II, and III of a nationally representative survey of 4,002 respondents. Results suggest that couples who met their partners online were more likely to be involved in dating and romantic relationships than marital relationships compared to couples who met offline. Furthermore, the breakup rates for both marital and non-marital romantic relationships was found to be higher for couples who met online than couples who met through offline venues. In addition to meeting venue, relationship quality and duration of relationship were found to be significant factors that predicted if couples would stay together or break up. Evidence drawn from theory and previous research are used to explain these observed trends.

Marriage, Choice, and Couplehood in the Age of the Internet

“…Heterosexual couples who met online transitioned to marriage faster than heterosexual couples who met offline. My results overturn earlier results (Paul 2014) that claimed that HCMST data showed that couples who met online had higher rates of breakup.…”

Online Dating and Problematic Use: A Systematic Review

“…A total of eleven studies were found that examined the characteristics of use or motivations of online dating use. Out of the eleven studies, there were ten quantitative studies, all of which were cross-sectional (Corriero and Tong 2016;Gunter 2008;Hance et al 2018;Houran and Lange 2004;Hwang 2013;Kim et al 2009;Menkin et al 2015;Paul 2014;Stinson and Jeske 2016;Valkenburg and Peter 2007), and one qualitative study (Lawson and Leck 2006). One study examined heterosexual respondents only (Hwang 2013), and another study focused on male homosexual populations only (Corriero and Tong 2016), and the remaining studies did not differentiate between sexual orientations.…”

Date me if you can: Ein systematischer Überblick über den aktuellen Forschungsstand von Online-Dating

“…B. Sex oder Dates) zu präferieren (Clemens et al 2015;Hall et al 2010) und sexuelle Abenteuer zu suchen (Schmitz et al 2011;Owen et al 2011;Paul 2014;Martins et al 2015;Sumter et al 2017). Frauen hingegen nutzen Online-Dating-Plattformen häufiger, um längerfristige Beziehungen (z.…”