Staggering statistics show that couples who meet online are six times more likely to divorce, even if they’ve been together for over seven years.
The study by Marriage Foundation suggests that couples who got together on a website or app are more likely to divorce than those who met at university or via family/friends in the first three years of marriage.
The news may come as a shock to the many couples who’ve met via dating apps which have boomed in popularity over recent years.
Here are the key stats in numbers:
- 17 – Couples that meet online are at a 17 per cent risk of divorce according to the stats.
- 10 – This was compared to the 10 per cent that met in other ways, such as through friends/family or at a restaurant
- 2,000 – Marriage Foundation surveyed 2,000 adults as part of this survey
- 30 – The adults surveyed were all aged 30 and over
- 30 – Online meetings are the most popular place to meet a husband or wife, 30 per cent of those have married in the last two years
- 1 – Marriage from meeting online was just 1 per cent in the 1990s and 7 per cent in the 2000s.
- 10 – The study also found that after years of marriage, those who met through the workplace have the highest rate of divorce – at 24 per cent.
- 20 – This was compared to the 20 per cent of those who met online, 19 per cent who met in a bar/restaurant and 15 per cent via friends of neighbours.
The findings said that: “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.”
In a nutshell, taking into account gender, age and occupation, the odds of divorce within the first three years of marriage was six times higher for those who met online.
The Marriage Foundation newsletter adds: “It shouldn’t put people off meeting online. Marriages still tend to do better than those cohabiting but not married.
“But the extra risk is ideal territory for marriage preparation courses whose benefits are most apparent in those early years.”