I don’t think that that theory, even if it’s true for something like jam, applies to dating

I don’t think that that theory, even if it’s true for something like jam, applies to dating
I actually don’t see in my data any negative repercussions for people who meet partners online. In fact, people who meet their partners online are not more likely to break up – they don’t have more transitory relationships. There are online sites that cater to hookups, sure, but there are also online sites that cater to people looking for long-term relationships. What’s more, many people who meet in the online sites that cater to hookups end up in long-term relationships. This environment, mind you, is just like the one we see in the offline world.
There’s no obvious pattern by which people who meet online are worse off. And, conversely, online dating has real benefits. For people who have a hard time finding partners in their day-to-day, face-to-face life, the larger subset of potential partners online is a big advantage for them. For folks who are meeting people everyday-really younger people in their early twenties-online dating is relevant, but it really becomes a powerful force for people in thin dating markets.
It’s harder to feel alone when you’re 23, because everyone is a potential partner. But when you get to 40, most people your age are already settled down.
In a 2012 paper, I wrote about how among heterosexuals, the people who are most likely to use online dating are the middle-aged folks, because they’re the ones in the thinnest dating market
So it’s fair to say that the experience, at least from a bird’s-eye view, isn’t as different as we make it out to be? Continue Reading