Online dating 'mainstream in US'

Online dating has become a mainstream way for couples to meet, a study has found

Published: 10:56am, 6th February 2012
Updated: 2:53pm, 7th February 2012

Internet dating is now the second most common method of matchmaking in America, research has shown.

Only introductions made through friends help more people in the US to find love.

But dating sites' claims that they employ "science-based" methods of bringing lonely hearts together cannot be trusted, say scientists.

A review of more than 400 psychology studies and surveys found there was no longer any stigma attached to internet dating. According to one industry estimate, dating sites attracted 25 million users worldwide in April last year alone.

The researchers said internet dating was a great help to single people in Western societies, for whom matchmaking was "grossly inefficient" after leaving school or university. However, they warned that online love had serious pitfalls for the unwary.

Professor Harry Reis, from the University of Rochester, US, one of the study's five co-authors, said: "Online dating is definitely a new and much needed twist on relationships.

"The internet holds great promise for helping adults form healthy and supportive romantic partnerships, and those relationships are one of the best predictors of emotional and physical health."

But he cautioned that comparing large numbers of potential dates may encourage a "shopping mentality", leading people to become over-picky and focused on narrow criteria such as attractiveness or interests.

Corresponding by computer for weeks or even months before meeting face-to-face could also create unrealistic expectations, the study said, and sites may also encourage fruitless and ultimately destructive quests for "perfect match" soulmates.

No independent published studies existed that could explain the "science-based" approach offered by dating sites, the team added. Sites kept their "in-house" research methods and data collection secret, and therefore "not verifiable" by outside parties, the report said.