pe w i n t e r n e t .or g 9
Part 1: Introduction
For as long as romantic relationships have existed, people have sought assistance in meeting potential
partners using whatever options were at their disposal. Matchmaking and arranged marriages have
existed for centuries, and printed personal ads are nearly as old as the newspaper industry itself. More
recently, technological developments from the VCR to the (pre-internet era) personal computer have
been enlisted, with varying degrees of success, in an effort to connect people with romantic partners.
2
In the mid-1990’s, online dating sites such as Match.com marked the commercial internet’s first foray
into dating and relationships. As these sites have evolved in the ensuing years, they have typically
assumed one of two forms. Some offer a “personal ads” format, in which users create their own profile
and browse the profiles of others on their own (Match.com, OkCupid, and PlentyofFish are common
examples of this type of service). Others take on a more active matchmaking role, in which computer
algorithms select pre-screened matches for users based on various criteria (eHarmony is the most well-
known of these “algorithmic” matching services). More recently, a third model has emerged in the form
of cell phone dating apps.
The rise of tech-enabled dating help has been one of the most striking developments of the digital era,
and these alternative ways of meeting and mating have arisen at a time of fundamental change in the
structure of marriage and divorce in America. The number of Americans getting married has been
steadily declining, and today a record-low 51% of the public is currently married (in 1960, 72% of all
adults 18 and older were married). Americans are also waiting until later in life to get married, and other
living arrangements—such as cohabitation, single person households, and single parenthood—have
grown more common in recent decades. At the same time, marriage still holds wide appeal for those
who have not tied the knot. Some 61% of men and women who have never married say they would like
to get married eventually, while just 12% say they definitely do not want to marry.
Research into whether online dating actually produces more successful relationships or romantic
outcomes than conventional (offline) dating is generally inconclusive, although these sites clearly offer a
qualitatively different experience compared with traditional dating. Some of these differences include:
the ability to search from a deep pool of potential partners outside of one’s existing social networks; the
ability to communicate online or via email prior to arranging for a face-to-face interaction; and matching
algorithms that allow users to filter potential partners based on pre-existing criteria.
3
Other research has
indicated that the efficiency of online dating and the size of the potential dating pool compared with
traditional methods make the process especially useful for people (such as gays and lesbians, or middle
aged heterosexuals) who may have limited options for meeting people within their immediate
geographic area or social circle.
4
Still others have speculated that the rise of online dating has
2
Finkel, E., Eastwick, P., Karney, B., Reis, H., and Sprecher, S., “Online Dating: A Critical Analysis From the
Perspective of Psychological Science,” Psychological Science in the Public Interest, January 2012, vol. 13. Available
at http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/journals/pspi/online-dating.html
3
Ibid.
4
Rosenfeld, M., and Thomas, R., “Searching For a Mate: The Rise of the Internet as a Social Intermediary,”
American Sociological Review, 77(4): 523:547. Available at
http://www.stanford.edu/~mrosenfe/Rosenfeld_How_Couples_Meet_Working_Paper.pdf