Data Dating Game
Love at First Click
Previous routes to the dating and mating game were through proximity and interface. The dating game has normally operated in schools, at parties, universities, work, athletic clubs and restaurant bars. Creative efforts in the battle for a mate have tried to expand the possible interfaces with sip-and-paint events, dart clubs, matchmaking services, speed dating and hunting outings for love. Other strategies exist, such as putting your daughter at a university where a future King of England would be attending, the ultimate Mrs. Degree including a crown. The internet as the basis for the dating game has outrun all of these.
In its probably most valuable use beyond Wikipedia and pornography, the internet is the ultimate leveler in the dating game of making the market for love work and also cast a wide net for buyers and sellers. Getting the best deal in shopping is the basis for eCommerce and this applies for the young and old in the dating game, and even for a potential bride and groom. The history of mail-order brides dates back to the American colonies from the year 1620, so it is just a digital upgrade to an early innovation.
The danger lies in the data interface instead of the human interface because, as with the internet, no one knows who is behind the images on the internet. Love can be blind on the internet despite the worldwide choice in the pool of candidates. A match made in heaven is really a match made in the Cloud. Love at first sight on the blue screen is now love at first click or swiping left or right. Like searching for suspects in a criminal database, a love match can now be made in cyberspace.
One issue that requires more research is whether an internet match lasts longer than the more conventional route in the past. A quick click for lifetime or for a cyber-shelf life?
According to statistics, the divorce rate in the US is around 44.6% of marriages. The average length of a marriage that ends in divorce is 8 years.
According to a Forbes study poll:
OnePoll/Forbes Health polled 5,000 U.S. respondents (conducted in August 2023) who have actively dated in the last five years, and looked into how people date, how they prefer to date, online and app-based dating and more.
Nearly 70% of individuals who met someone on a dating app said it led to a romantic, exclusive relationship, while 28% said it did not].
Individuals between ages 43 and 58 found the most success with online dating, with 72% stating that meeting on a dating app led to a romantic relationship.
Males were more likely to have met someone on a dating app and have it lead to an exclusive relationship (75%), compared to 66% of females.
Online dating is still very popular, with nearly three in 10 U.S. adults saying they have used a dating site or app, and more than 40% stating that online dating has made dating easier for them.
So the dating game is a data game with digital Xs and Os replacing kiss Xs and hugs Os.