Online Dating

The way humans interact has been evolving over the past few decades. The shift towards a greater reliance on technology has altered the way people communicate on a variety of fronts. From Facebook to Twitter, people are engaging in more face-to-face time with their computer, tablet, and phone screens than with each other. Before the Internet evolved into an incredibly integral part of everyday life, pursuing romantic relationships typically necessitated two individuals meeting face-to-face for a potential relationship to begin. Meeting a prospective partner involved finding promising possibilities for participating in face-to-face contact. These face-to-face meetings were crucial for people to familiarize themselves with each other in order

Online dating has become a popular medium for pursuing romantic relationships, and electronic dating services have grown into a significant Internet business. Hitwise.com (2005) reported an estimated 836 live dating websites since January 2005, and in 2004 online dating revenue reached a high of $473 million. A recent study by Madden & Lenhart (2006) approximated 74% out of 10 million single Internet users turned to the Internet for assistance while looking for a partner. The study also concluded that about one-third of American adults are familiar with someone in their lives who have accessed online dating sites (Madden & Lenhart, 2006). In addition, Burmaster (2005), found that online dating services have become the third most popular way of getting a date, and that one in three Internet users in the United Kingdom preferred to meet potential relationship partners via the Internet. In another study, 23% of 17,502 online customers established long-term relationships that began on an online dating website, and 10% of online consumers had married the person they met online (GMI, 2006). Evidently, these studies indicate online dating has become a mainstream component of Internet usage, as well as a new popular method for finding life-long

Men and women share an equal desire for romance and partnership, however, finding a suitable partner may be more challenging for some individuals than others. In addition, the work-oriented culture and "get ahead" mentality of the United States causes many men and women to feel like they simply do not have the time to go out and look for a promising opportunity in which to meet suitable partners (Bailey, 1998). Aging adults may feel like they are less satisfied with utilizing traditional methods of meeting new people such as going to a bar on a weekly basis (Davidson, 2001). Additionally, there may also be gender-specific limitations. Kinsella and He (2009) identified two ways that limit women in particular: the demography of aging because women outlive and outnumber men, so their dating pool is much smaller, and older men tend to me married. Men also experience restrictions due to their gender because their social networks become smaller as they grow older, which minimizes their chances of meeting new people (Ajrouch, Antonucci, & Janevic, 2001). Not only do online dating services allow men and women to expand their options of potential partners, they permit individuals to do so from the comfort of their homes. Clearly, there needs to be a wider scope of research that focuses on the gender-specific reasons why men and women decide to participate in online