Internet Dating More Successful than Thought - June 2008

Internet dating is proving a much more successful way to find long-term romance and friendship for thousands of people than was previously thought, new research shows.

A new study of online dating site members has found that when couples who had built up a significant relationship by e-mailing or chatting online met for the first time, 94 per cent went on to see each other again.

Old-fashioned romance isnt dead, however: among the surveys findings were that exchanging gifts was the best way to ensure commitment in the relationship.

The research comes at a time when the numbers using internet dating agencies have steadily increased: around six million Britons are now believed to have signed up.

Recent research has shown that:

94 per cent of those surveyed saw their e-partner again after first meeting them, and the relationships lasted for an average of at least seven months, with 18 per cent of them lasting over a year.

Men online were significantly more likely to be committed to the relationship than women and were more dependent on their e-partner.

The more the couple engaged in simultaneous online chat before meeting rather than simply e-mailing one another, the more they were found to depend on one another emotionally and the more they understood one another.

Those who exchanged gifts before meeting had a more committed and deeper relationship.

The more the couple talked on the telephone before they met, the deeper the relationship.

It was found that people using the internet rarely used webcams, which allow computer users to see one another, because they preferred the greater anonymity of writing and using the telephone.

This study shows that online dating can work for many people, leading to a successful meeting for almost everyone we surveyed.

Given that the most successful relationships lasted at least seven months, and in some case over a year, it seems that these relationships have a similar level of success as ones formed in more conventional ways.

Men tend to be more committed to the online relationships than women, possibly because the anonymity of writing gives them a chance to express their emotions more readily than in real life.

People are shying away from using webcams because they feel its important not see their partners for some time there is something special about text-based relationships.

It is thought that the reason that using the telephone and online chatting indicates a deeper relationship is that these are methods of simultaneous communication, whereas e-mails are more formal.

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Women More Likely to Snoop Than Men - July 2008

An online dating service, asked its members: Have you ever snooped on your partner? The results were very interesting.

Women were more likely than men to snoop with 30 percent admitting to doing it "once or twice" compared to 25 percent of men. A bigger gap opened among those who answered "That's not my style". This was the choice of 34 percent of men compared to only 20 percent of women.

The justification for women to snoop however, could stem from the fact that 22 percent of them answered: "I have snooped, and found out information that ended the relationship."

Only 14 percent of men chose the same answer. More men, 21 percent, than women, 16 percent, admitted to being tempted to snoop but not going through with it. The remaining 12 percent of women and 7 percent of men answered: "I regularly go undercover. You never know what you might find."

The results show that when women's intuition meets distrust, relationships can be put into jeopardy. Many people who snoop when they already suspect their partners are up to no good".

Of the relationships, 39 per cent were still going on at the time of the survey, and of these 24 per cent had been going for at least a year, and eight per cent for at least two years. Of the relationships that had already ended at the time of the survey, 14 per cent had lasted over a year, and four per cent had lasted over two years.