| Finding
Mr (or Mrs) Right online |
|
Online dating CAN help you find
your perfect partner, research shows
By Sean
Poulter - Daily Mail February
13th 2009
Where have all the nice men gone?:
One in five of those who have used dating sites to find their
perfect partner have gone on to marry someone they met over the
web. Nice men are online right now - waiting to hear from you.
Dating online can
find you Mr or Mrs Right
Finding love over the internet is a good way of meeting a marriage
partner, research has showed.
It found that one in five of those who have used
dating sites to find their perfect partner have gone on to marry
someone they met over the web.
The study, by consumer group Which?, also revealed that more than
half of the 1,504 people questioned had been on a date with someone
they met in cyberspace.
Sixty-two per cent agreed that it was easier to
meet someone on a dating site than in other ways, such as in a
pub or club, or through friends.
At
the same time, the under-35s were more likely to know someone
who had been on a date or had a long-term relationship with someone
they met through online dating.
Jess Ross, editor of which.co.uk, said: 'Online
dating is revolutionising the way people meet each other. Switching
the computer on could be the first step to online dating success.'
It is safe and secure - all contact is done through the website
and you never have to release any personal details if you don't
wish to.
According to industry surveys, more than 22million
people visited dating websites in 2007, and more than two million
Britons are signed up to singles sites.
Previous research has shown that couples who get
to know each other via emails are more likely to see each other
again after their first date.
Two years ago, a study by Bath University revealed
that those who met on dating websites were 94 per cent more likely
to see each other after their first meeting than other couples.
The researchers studied relationships formed on
an online dating website.
They found that consummate love - described as a
balance of passion, intimacy and commitment - was evident at around
12 months into a relationship.
Of the 147 couples who took part in the study, 61
per cent said their relationships had high levels of these three
components. The researchers also found that men were more likely
to find true love on the internet than women.
Some 67 per cent of men but just 57 per cent of
women said they had experienced consummate love with an online
partner.
However, women were more likely to experience 'liking'
compared to men (9 per cent and 2 per cent respectively), they
found.
Companionate love - a relationship with high levels
of intimacy and commitment, but lower levels of passion - was
the next most frequently experienced form of love, exhibited by
16 per cent of the study group.
Dr Jeff Gavin, who led the team, said: 'To date,
there has been no systematic study of love in the context-of relationships
formed via online dating sites.
'But with the popularity of online dating, it is
imperative we understand the factors that influence satisfaction
in relationships formed in this way.'
How I met my Berlin bride
Success
story: Robert Hammond and Martina Bund met online and are
getting married
After failing to find love through the personal ads of his local
newspaper, Robert Hammond was keen to give internet dating a go.
'Martina contacted me shortly after she joined the
site. We chatted online for eight weeks before finally meeting
up in Berlin, where Martina was living, in May 2007. TbR
‘It felt right between us from the start and
in October 2007, I proposed at home in Yorkshire. We’re getting
married on May 30 so, for us, the internet was fantastic.’
Martina Bund, 42, an author, said: ‘I had no
experience of internet dating so it was luck Robert was the first
man I met and the one I’m going to marry.’
Want something naughtier?
Explore adult dating for grown-ups at www.naughtyfunover50.co.uk
