Almost 40% of hetero and 60% of same-sex couples now meet online for the first time

This content has been archived. It may no longer be accurate or relevant.

From Fast Company:

That’s according to a new study conducted by sociologists Michael Rosenfeld and Sonia Hausen of Stanford University and Reuben Thomas of Arizona State University. It looked at data from the multiyear How Couples Meet and Stay Together survey and found that, in 2017, meeting online was by far the most frequent way people met their significant others. Some findings from the study:

  • In 2017 39% of heterosexual and 60% of same-sex couples met online. That compares to only 2% of couples meeting online in 1995.
  • Fewer couples are now also meeting through friends or family. In 1995 33% of couples met through mutual friends and 15% met through family. In 2017 only 20% of couples met through mutual friends and 7% met through family.
  • Even relationship-forming hotbeds like your college years saw a decline in couples meeting during this time. In 1995 9% of couples met in college versus only 4% in 2017. That means in 2017 a couple was as likely to meet in college as they were in church.
  • There are also fewer couples meeting through or as coworkers. In 1995 19% of couples met via work, but only 11% of couples met via work in 2017.
  • The only place outside of the internet where couples meeting for the first time grew were in a bar or restaurant. In 1995 19% of couples met in a bar or restaurant. That number shot up to 27% in 2017.

Link to the rest at Fast Company

PG will leave questions about how this impacts contemporary romance novels to those who are expert in the field.

.

5 thoughts on “Almost 40% of hetero and 60% of same-sex couples now meet online for the first time”

  1. I’m not a romance novelist, but “The Shop Around the Corner” has been remade two or three times. Judy Garland starred in “In the Good Old Summertime” (my personal favorite).

    In that story, the love interests were pen pals. In the last (and least) iteration it was “You’ve Got Mail” and the couple corresponded via email.

    I don’t think we have to worry about romance writers thinking of ways for couples to meet. 🙂

  2. “PG will leave questions about how this impacts contemporary romance novels to those who are expert in the field.”

    Yes, because contemporary romances are filled with nothing but the most realistic situations. 🙂

  3. Want to avoid company rules, university rules, family expectations? Meet online or in bars, and bypass all those pitfalls.

  4. “Even relationship-forming hotbeds like your college years saw a decline in couples meeting during this time. In 1995 9% of couples met in college versus only 4% in 2017.”

    That does not surprise me at all.

Comments are closed.