Research Study: Couples who meet on dating apps are more likely to divorce in early marriage, study finds

SW15

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"12% of couples who meet online get divorced within the first three years of marriage compared to 2% of couples who meet through friends or family. After seven years, those statistics increase to 17% and 10% respectively. "

"Online dating isn't the only meeting method that's more likely to lead to divorce. The study found that 8% of couples who met in school and 7% of couples who met at work divorce within the first three years compared to only 2% and 3% of couples who met through family and friends or at bars, respectively."

"Since the 2000s, online dating has surged in popularity and acceptance, currently responsible for more than half of couples. Before the 2000s, about two-thirds of couples met through family, at work or in social settings such as bars or parties."

"These figures are troubling given the increasing popularity of couples meeting online," the Marriage Foundation’s research director, Harry Benson, said in a statement released Sunday. "It suggests that in the early years of marriage, couples who meet this way might lack sufficient social capital or close support networks around them to deal with all the challenges they face."


Attention Harry Benson -- These people are using swipe apps simply because they lack the social circle, have exhausted their social circles, or lack the social skills to find partners in other ways.

 
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Zimbabwe

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It's just not a normal way of meeting women, women are not held accountable for their actions. Part of the reason social circle works is because women are held accountable for bad actions.

If she cheats the whole group finds out and shames her.
 

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OLD marriage is definitely the shortest, but meeting at work is definitely the worst statistic in that study with the highest overall divorce rate, they just waste more time before things turn sour. In that regard OLD marriages are rather efficient.

Here's the relevant graphic from that study.
Screenshot_20221201_013939_Drive.jpg
 

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It's just not a normal way of meeting women, women are not held accountable for their actions. Part of the reason social circle works is because women are held accountable for bad actions.

If she cheats the whole group finds out and shames her.
Or they could side with her, especially if you are new to the social network and she's more established there.
 

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83% is still a good success rate. If it's 50% or higher then it should be newsworthy. I thought it would be way higher than that, which means its working. Glass half-empty or half-full, but in this case, the half-full is over 80% so why dwell on the negative.
 

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Maybe they met on looks alone
OLD is always meeting on looks, but also a minimal amount of rapport. This study measures divorce rates depending on how couples met initially, from my experience there's quite a bit that happens between meeting for the first time and getting married, even if it's rushed. Lots opportunity to analyze the other person and lots of opportunity to abandon ship before marriage. This statistic measures those who DID marry and subsequently divorced within 3, 5, 7 or 10 years.

83% is still a good success rate. If it's 50% or higher then it should be newsworthy. I thought it would be way higher than that, which means its working. Glass half-empty or half-full, but in this case, the half-full is over 80% so why dwell on the negative.
Doesn't seem to measure above 10 years. In my mind the >10 years category would be the worst to be in, so much wasted time, time you will never get back in life.
 

BackInTheGame78

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"12% of couples who meet online get divorced within the first three years of marriage compared to 2% of couples who meet through friends or family. After seven years, those statistics increase to 17% and 10% respectively. "

"Online dating isn't the only meeting method that's more likely to lead to divorce. The study found that 8% of couples who met in school and 7% of couples who met at work divorce within the first three years compared to only 2% and 3% of couples who met through family and friends or at bars, respectively."

"Since the 2000s, online dating has surged in popularity and acceptance, currently responsible for more than half of couples. Before the 2000s, about two-thirds of couples met through family, at work or in social settings such as bars or parties."

"These figures are troubling given the increasing popularity of couples meeting online," the Marriage Foundation’s research director, Harry Benson, said in a statement released Sunday. "It suggests that in the early years of marriage, couples who meet this way might lack sufficient social capital or close support networks around them to deal with all the challenges they face."


Attention Harry Benson -- These people are using swipe apps simply because they lack the social circle, have exhausted their social circles, or lack the social skills to find partners in other ways.

Well, this really is kind of meaningless because all things considered, I would rather be divorced within 3 years than be unhappy and try and stick it out for 10 years like you may feel pressure to do socially of you meet through friends and family.

All that matters is how happy people are when they are married. I highly doubt there is much difference in happiness levels, simply some are divorcing earlier than others, meaning some groups are staying unhappy longer.

Just like people point to higher divorce rates now versus 50 years ago as if somehow married couples were happier then. They weren't, they just chose to stay married and unhappy with their lives for appearances because divorce was majorly taboo then.
 
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I just don't like stuff like this because people rarely take accountability for their mistakes. I'll be straight up honest, I saw the signs that me and my ex weren't compatible within a month, but I held on. I could've easily married that woman, but I had the sense to break things lol.
 
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SW15

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Well, this really is kind of meaningless because all things considered, I would rather be divorced within 3 years than be unhappy and try and stick it out for 10 years like you may feel pressure to do socially of you meet through friends and family.
"In regression analyses, the only differences of statistical significance were between those who met online who were more likely to divorce in the first three years of marriage, but only when compared to those who met through family or friends or who met socially in a bar or restaurant."

The majority of divorces happen 3 years after the wedding date too. I realize that this is UK based data. I know that in the US, the average/median lengths of marriages that fail are both around 7-8 years and I didn't the UK's data set would be that different. When we consider the data points, they show that the least stable marriages come from the online daters pool, because these marriages have the worst durational based outcomes. However, a marriage that goes to crap in 3 years or less isn't as bad in practical terms as a longer lasting marriage that fails. There's less time to fucck up your life, including having kids in the marriage.

A super short marriage with no kids tends not to have too much effect on SMV. I've had some dates with short term childless divorcees. Every date that I have ever had with a childless divorcee was arranged through either a dating website (pre-swipe app era) or a swipe app.

In terms of the couples that fail after a lengthier time, there's no influence on the initial meeting method.

people point to higher divorce rates now versus 50 years ago as if somehow married couples were happier then. They weren't, they just chose to stay married and unhappy with their lives for appearances because divorce was majorly taboo then.
Divorce rates are generally meaningless statistic. All it measures are the divorces in a calendar year vs. the new marriages in a calendar year. The divorce rate has been falling in recent years because there are fewer new marriages in recent years.

The blog post below does a good job of explaining that but anyone with a solid statistical knowledge base understands that. Most readers of mainstream articles don't have the statistical knowledge to fully grasp that concept. The two links are the same article but one has non-broken links in it.

The more relevant consideration is the probability of a divorce at any point during the lifetime of a marriage. Even while the divorce rate has been falling since 2000, the probability of a marriage failing at any point during its lifetime has been increasing



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I would argue that people who meet through school, social circle, their workplaces (quasi social circle), or bar/social (mostly stranger approaches done by men) are actually more prone to longer term relationships and marriages than interactions that begin on the swipe apps or DMs on social media platforms.
 
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SW15

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The more relevant consideration is the probability of a divorce at any point during the lifetime of a marriage.

Item 17:

"Over a 40 year period, 67 percent of first marriages terminate."

No fault divorce started in most US states between 1970-1975, so there are now about 50 years of data points on that.

Item 17 is the most relevant statistic to most people.

I just don't like stuff like this because people rarely take accountability for their mistakes. I'll be straight up honest, I saw the signs that me and my ex weren't compatible within a month, but I held on. I could've easily married that woman, but I had the sense to break things lol.
Sexual history is covered in Items 59-62 in this list from the link above...

59. Women who lost their virginity as a teenager are more than twice as likely to get divorced in the first 5 years of marriage than women who waited until age 18 or older.

60. A 2011 study at the University of Iowa found that for both men and women, the loss of virginity before age 18 was correlated with a greater number of occurrences of divorce within the first 10 years of marriage.

61. When compared to women who began sexual activity in their early 20s, girls who initiated sexual activity at ages 13 or 14 were less than half as likely to be in stable marriages in their 30s. – (in this study a stable marriage was defined as a marriage of over five years).

62. Women with 6 or more premarital sexual partners are almost 3 times less likely to be in a stable marriage.
 
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corrector

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Doesn't seem to measure above 10 years. In my mind the >10 years category would be the worst to be in, so much wasted time, time you will never get back in life.
I don't think anybody cares at that point that you can't really blame that on anything. It's too far removed as to how they met, or the initial romance, etc.... If it's over a certain time then it means something else happened that's not related to that. Furthermore, I can't see time spent with women as a waste of time. When you are in a 8 year dry-spell like I am, or just not used to being around women in general, then it's impossible to "waste" time with woman.
 

Who Dares Win

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Most people that meet on OLD is usually low socially integrated men (wheter by choice or not) and women that failed to get commitment from those around her in her environment (school, work, peer group).

So you basically have men with either low social value and/or low desire to conform that match with women that lack the value or skills to be desired from men that know them.

The only attractive women looking for a relationship on tinder I saw, were all 30+ and that was their last resort...attractive girls in their 20s use tinder when they are bored or need an ego boost but surely not looking for long term partners.
 

SW15

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Most people that meet on OLD is usually low socially integrated men (wheter by choice or not) and women that failed to get commitment from those around her in her environment (school, work, peer group).

So you basically have men with either low social value and/or low desire to conform that match with women that lack the value or skills to be desired from men that know them.

The only attractive women looking for a relationship on tinder I saw, were all 30+ and that was their last resort...attractive girls in their 20s use tinder when they are bored or need an ego boost but surely not looking for long term partners.
There is not a worse combination than the men you describe trying to form longer term relationships with the women you describe.
 
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