Abstract
Marital discord is costly to children, families, and communities. The advent of the Internet, social networking, and on-line dating has affected how people meet future spouses, but little is known about the prevalence or outcomes of these marriages or the demographics of those involved. We addressed these questions in a nationally representative sample of 19,131 respondents who married between 2005 and 2012. Results indicate that more than one-third of marriages in America now begin on-line. In addition, marriages that began online, when compared with those that began through traditional offline venues, were slightly less likely to result in a marital breakup (separation or divorce) and were associated with slightly higher marital satisfaction among those respondents who remained married. Demographic differences were identified between respondents who met their spouse through on-line vs. traditional off-line venues, but the findings for marital break-up and marital satisfaction remained significant after statistically controlling for these differences. These data suggest that the Internet may be altering the dynamics and outcomes of marriage itself.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 10135-10140 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
| Volume | 110 |
| Issue number | 25 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 18 2013 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Dyads
- Marital outcomes
- Social relationships
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General
Cite this
Marital satisfaction and break-ups differ across on-line and off-line meeting venues. / Cacioppo, John T.; Cacioppo, Stephanie; Gonzaga, Gian C.; Ogburn, Elizabeth Leigh; Vanderweele, Tyler J.
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 110, No. 25, 18.06.2013, p. 10135-10140.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Marital satisfaction and break-ups differ across on-line and off-line meeting venues
AU - Cacioppo, John T.
AU - Cacioppo, Stephanie
AU - Gonzaga, Gian C.
AU - Ogburn, Elizabeth Leigh
AU - Vanderweele, Tyler J.
PY - 2013/6/18
Y1 - 2013/6/18
N2 - Marital discord is costly to children, families, and communities. The advent of the Internet, social networking, and on-line dating has affected how people meet future spouses, but little is known about the prevalence or outcomes of these marriages or the demographics of those involved. We addressed these questions in a nationally representative sample of 19,131 respondents who married between 2005 and 2012. Results indicate that more than one-third of marriages in America now begin on-line. In addition, marriages that began online, when compared with those that began through traditional offline venues, were slightly less likely to result in a marital breakup (separation or divorce) and were associated with slightly higher marital satisfaction among those respondents who remained married. Demographic differences were identified between respondents who met their spouse through on-line vs. traditional off-line venues, but the findings for marital break-up and marital satisfaction remained significant after statistically controlling for these differences. These data suggest that the Internet may be altering the dynamics and outcomes of marriage itself.
AB - Marital discord is costly to children, families, and communities. The advent of the Internet, social networking, and on-line dating has affected how people meet future spouses, but little is known about the prevalence or outcomes of these marriages or the demographics of those involved. We addressed these questions in a nationally representative sample of 19,131 respondents who married between 2005 and 2012. Results indicate that more than one-third of marriages in America now begin on-line. In addition, marriages that began online, when compared with those that began through traditional offline venues, were slightly less likely to result in a marital breakup (separation or divorce) and were associated with slightly higher marital satisfaction among those respondents who remained married. Demographic differences were identified between respondents who met their spouse through on-line vs. traditional off-line venues, but the findings for marital break-up and marital satisfaction remained significant after statistically controlling for these differences. These data suggest that the Internet may be altering the dynamics and outcomes of marriage itself.
KW - Dyads
KW - Marital outcomes
KW - Social relationships
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84879311792&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84879311792&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1222447110
DO - 10.1073/pnas.1222447110
M3 - Article
C2 - 23733955
AN - SCOPUS:84879311792
VL - 110
SP - 10135
EP - 10140
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
SN - 0027-8424
IS - 25
ER -