This question was asked of everyone in a marriage or other long-term partnership, including many whose relationships were initiated well before meeting online was an option. Looking only at those committed relationships that started within the last ten years, 11% say that their spouse or partner is someone they met online. Younger adults are also more likely than older ones to say that their relationship began online. Some 8% of 18-29 year olds in a marriage or committed relationship met their partner online, compared with 7% of 30-49 year olds, 3% of 50-64 year olds, and just 1% of those 65 and older.
In addition, people who have used online dating are significantly more likely to say that their relationship began online than are those who have never used online dating. Fully 34% of Americans who are in a committed relationship and have used online dating sites or dating apps in the past say that they met their spouse or partner online, compared with 3% for those who have not used online dating sites.
Using the internet to flirt, research potential partners, and check up on old flames have all become much more common in recent years
Compared with when we conducted our first study of dating and relationships in 2005, many more Americans are using online tools to check up on people they used to date, and to flirt with potential (or current) love interests:
- 24% of internet users have searched for information online about someone they dated in the past, up from 11% in 2005.
- 24% of internet users have flirted with someone online, up from 15% in 2005.
Young adults are especially likely to flirt online—47% of internet users ages 18-24 have done this before, as have 40% of those ages 25-34. And while younger adults are also more likely than their elders to look up past flames online, this behavior is still relatively common among older cohorts. Some 21% of internet users ages 45-54, and 15% of those ages 55-64, have gone online to look up someone they used to date.
Additionally, 29% of internet users with recent dating experience have gone online to search for information about someone they were currently dating or about to meet for a first date. That is more than double the 13% of such internet users who did so when we last asked about this behavior in 2005.
Social networking sites offer a new online venue for navigating the world of dating and relationships
Today six out of every ten Americans use social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook or Twitter, and these sites are often intertwined with the way they experience their past and present romantic relationships:
- One third (31%) of all SNS users have gone on these sites to check up on someone they used to date or be in a relationship with.
- 17% have posted pictures or other details from a date on a social networking site.
Younger adults are especially likely to live out their relationships through social networking sites. Some 48% of SNS users ages 18-29 have used these sites to check up on someone they dated in the past, and 31% have posted details or pictures from a date on a social networking site.
These sites are also being used as a source of background research on potential romantic partners. Nearly one third (30%) of SNS users with recent dating experience1 have used a social networking site to get more information about someone they were interested in dating. And 12% of SNS users with recent dating experience have friended or followed someone on a social networking site specifically because one of their friends suggested they might want to date that person.
More Articles
- Gender and Labor Markets by Diego Mendez-Carbajo* : "Sure [Fred Astaire] was great, but don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did…backwards and in high heels." — Robert Thaves1
- Veterans Health Care: Efforts to Hire Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists
- Adrienne G. Cannon Writes: Those Lonely Days
- Press Briefing by White House COVID-19 Response Team and Public Health Officials: Dating Sites Like Bumble, Tinder, Hinge, Match, OkCupid, BLK, Chispa, Plenty of Fish, and Badoo Anouncing Features to Encourage Vaccinations
- Jill Norgren Reviews a New Inspector Gamache Mystery: All the Devils Are Here
- Rose Madeline Mula Writes: Look Who's Talking
- Celebrating 100 Years of Women Voting; Virtual Sessions: United States Capitol Historical Society
- Supreme Court Surprises The Public in LGBTQ Ruling: What is Sex Discrimination?
- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi And Donald Trump Last Year
- Elaine Soloway's Hometown Rookie: Mirror, Mirror; Jealous; Terms of Endearment