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People who have Internet access at home are more likely to be in a
relationship, with the Web gaining in importance as a meeting place for those
seeking love, according to US research.
Researchers from Stanford University said the Internet is especially
important for bringing together same-sex couples.
The Internet may also soon replace friends as the main way in which
Americans meet their partners.
"Although prior research on the social impacts of Internet use has been
rather ambiguous about the social cost of time spent online, our research
suggests that Internet access has an important role to play in helping Americans
find mates," said Michael Rosenfeld, an associate professor of sociology.
The study, which was presented at the annual meeting of the American
Sociological Association in Atlanta on Monday, showed that 82 percent of people
in the study who had Internet access at home also had a spouse or romantic
partner, compared to 62 percent for those who did not have Internet access.
The study used data from a winter 2009 survey of 4,002 adults across the
United States. Slightly more than 3,000 had a spouse or romantic partner.
Rosenfeld and Reuben Thomas, of the City University of New York, found the
Internet is the one social arena that is unambiguously gaining importance as a
place where couples meet.
"It is possible that in the next several years the Internet could eclipse
friends as the most influential way Americans meet their romantic partners,
displacing friends out of the top position for the first time since the early
1940s," Rosenfeld said in a statement.
The researchers said they found that the Internet was especially important
for finding potential partners in groups where the supply is small or difficult
to identify such as in the gay, lesbian, and middle-aged heterosexual
communities.
Rosenfeld said that among the couples who met within two years of the
survey, 61 percent of same-sex couples and 21 percent of heterosexual couples
met online.
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发表于 2016-7-10 17:41:10