Couples that meet online less likely to divorce, US study shows

Couples that meet online have less chance of divorcing and are more likely to be satisfied with their marriage, a new study suggests.

The study indicated one out of three American marriages trace their roots online, and have proven to be more satisfying and less prone to divorce, Time.com reported.

“Meeting online is no longer an anomaly, and the prospects are good,” it quoted lead author John Cacioppo, a professor of social psychology at the University of Chicago, as saying.

Cacioppo also admitted being surprised and not expecting the outcome of the study funded by the online dating site eHarmony.

The research involved a Harris Poll of some 20,000 Americans who got married between 2005 and 2012. Of these, 35 percent of people met online.

While 8 percent of those who met offline – such as in a bar – got separated or divorced, the percentage for those who met online was just 6 percent.

These differences narrowed after accounting for factors that affect divorce rates such as income, education and number of years married.

Yet, Cacioppo says they remained significant.

Premature conclusion?

Eli Finkel, a professor of social psychology at Northwestern University, described the research as “impressive” with a “large sample” and “fascinating findings.”

But Finkel, who had published research critical of the online-dating industry said the conclusion that online marriages are better may be premature.

“The study is a good one. It suggests that one can meet a serious romantic partner online. That’s a big deal. But any conclusions that online meeting is better than off-line meeting overstep the evidence,” he said.

Income a big factor

The study showed income was a big factor, where just 3 percent of people making less than $15,000 annually met online, while 41 percent of those making $100,000 or more met partners online.

"Since greater income is linked with happier marriages and less divorce, controlling for income reduced the differences seen between those who met online and off," Time.com said.

However, the study does not suggest that meeting online in and of itself improves matchmaking or causes marriages to be better.

It added different types of meeting places were linked with different marital prospects, both online and offline.

The study also suggested growing up together or meeting at school, through friends or through a religious group were linked with more satisfying marriages than at a bar or club or on a blind date.

But it added meeting at work was just as bad as finding a spouse at a bar or nightclub.

Online venues

In terms of online venues, marriages that started in chat rooms or online communities were less satisfying than those initiated via online-dating sites.

However, dating sites themselves varied in terms of the marital satisfaction reported.

“In chat rooms and off-line, you meet only the people who are around and not large numbers of people. If you do online dating, all of sudden, there’s a world of possibilities,” Cacioppo said.

The study said another potential explanation for differences between online and offline togetherness involved personality.

“If you have good impulse control, you may be more likely to meet your spouse [deliberately] online rather than impulsively at a bar,” he said.

Cacioppo also said one additional reason why the online world might be conducive to matchmaking is that meeting via computer or text "leads people on average to be a little more honest and self-disclosing."

“When you are face to face, there is face-saving. When you don’t [see each other], you can be more comfortable being yourself,” he said.

The study said being more open led people to like each other more.

On the other hand, it remains unclear if online dating ultimately makes better matches. — LBG, GMA News