Online Dating Statistics

The activity of online dating or online dating service is meant to provide Internet as a dating medium. The personal computer is a commonly used hardware in providing the dating service over the Internet. However, cell phones are increasingly being used these days. One has to provide his/her personal information to the given dating service before searching for a partner. One can search for people on the basis of criteria they set. There is a provision for uploading photos, online chat, webcasts, message boards, telephone chat, etc. for online customers. Statistics presented in the article throw some light on this topic.

Online Dating Statistics

Here are some of the commonly observed trends regarding online dating presented in the form of statistics. Approximately 20 million people use some or the other online dating service. The following statistics provide information on Internet usage patterns of these users.

• Amongst the different services provided through Internet, dating is the third most popular service. It is followed by music and games.
• In the past decade, the rate of growth of online dating services was 154% per year.
• Twenty million Internet users visit dating sites once in a month. Few of these 20 million users visit the dating sites more than once.
• Out of the total adults with 45+ years age, 40% are single.
• In the United States of America, 31% of the population either uses online dating service or at least knows the people who are using it.
• According to recent surveys, 280,000 marriages that take place every year are attributed to online dating services. The number of people who try to find their love online is continuously on a rise.
• In the United States of America, 58% women and 48% men use the online dating services.
• The men to women ratio in America is 860:1000. Therefore, the odds are stacked in favor of men i.e. they have a better chance to find a partner than women.
• As per the statistics obtained from service providers, it is found that men are more interested in intelligent women, those with high self-esteem and who take a positive outlook towards life. The criteria of mere looks has fallen behind.
• Around 51% of men who went for online dating had 6 dates in a single year. Fifty-eight percent women who used online dating services had 4 dates in a single year.
• The online chatting statistics also reveal interesting information about dating. The way in which an Internet user greets (with words like 'hi', 'hello') others had a great impact on the response.
• Most people readily replied to those responses apart from 'hi' and 'hello'. The response rate for 'what's up' was 42% while it was 53% for 'how's it going'.
• In the year 2011, around $932 million were spent in the marketing of online dating services.
• Among all the Internet services, online dating remained at the top; its growth estimate is 10%.
• On the flip side, past 2-3 years have also witnessed a rise in number of bogus accounts and scams. Free-to-subscribe dating sites were mainly responsible for these problems. Out of the total number of accounts created in these years, 10% turned out to be bogus.
• Out of the total number of singles who seek online dating services, only 33% manage to get into a relationship. Out of the remaining 66% people, 33% lose hope and close their account while the other 33% keep searching for the right partner.

Dangers of Online Dating
The Internet though, appears to be an easy way to find love, the associated dangers may sometimes exceed the benefits. Giving your personal information to a complete stranger is dangerous. There are people who search for naive and innocent teenagers so as to take advantage of them. Apart from teenagers, women are targeted by these online 'predators'. Lying is one of the most common things that one resorts to in deceiving the naive Internet users. One can lie about anything like age, height, etc. The dangers of virtual dating have materialized in the form of murders, rapes and abductions.

The statistics associated with online dating reveal that the number of people trying to find love online is rising in number. However, these statistics about online dating also warn us about the dangers of careless use of Internet. Therefore, one has to be very careful before putting any kind of personal information on the Internet.