Twenty nine percent of the French and 21 percent of Filipinos have used
the internet to find love, but over one third of people who aren't online
daters believe only "desperate people" use the internet to look for love,
according to a recent global study by market research firm Synovate.
In a bid to find out what makes online daters click, Synovate surveyed
4,386 people from Brazil, France, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore,
South Africa, Romania and the United States to determine their online
dating perceptions, learn who has used the internet to find a romantic
partner and the level of success that they've had.
The results reveal a fairly even match between those who think online
dating is a great way to meet people (49 percent) and those who think
it is a waste of time (48 percent) but show large disparities among
levels of use and comfort between different nationalities.
Globally, 15 percent of respondents said they had used an online personal
ad or online dating service to meet a potential romantic interest, with
the French (29 percent), Filipinos (21 percent) and Americans (15 percent)
the biggest online daters.
Have you ever used an online personal ad or online dating service
to meet a potential romantic interest?
"The internet has become the matchmaker of our time," said Steve Levine,
Senior Vice President and Head of Technology & Telecom for Synovate
in North & Latin America. "As it continues to grow, and becomes even
more integrated in our lives, we should expect to see more people trying
online dating."
Just looking
Entertainment is the main driver for 46 percent of online dating
respondents, with many Brazilians (67 percent), Americans (50 percent)
and Romanians (49 percent) trying online dating out of fun or curiosity,
while one quarter of all online daters simply consider it a natural
extension of their regular internet use.
Surprisingly, although a person's photograph is the main factor determining
whether someone will initiate communication for one quarter of online daters,
39 percent are more interested in the written description of their personality
and 32 percent just want someone who meets basic criteria such as shared
interests and hobbies.
Looks are more important to Filipinos (38 percent) and South Africans (30 percent),
while Brazilians (50 percent) want a partner with personality, and Singaporeans
(53 percent) and Koreans (36 percent) just want someone who matches their list of
requirements.
What's the main factor in determining whether you will communicate with
someone through an online dating website? (Base: Have used an online personal
ad or online dating service)
Online daters across the globe vary in how long it takes them to move contact offline.
Thirty two percent of Filipinos are in no hurry, waiting at least a month from the first
correspondence to meet, while one-third of the French, Americans and Brazilians tend to
wait more than a week but less than a month. Many Romanians don't waste their
time – 16 percent said that they meet within a day! – but Koreans are more
hesitant as 54 percent said they never end up meeting face to face.
The French report the most disasters when moving online correspondence offline,
with 58 percent having had a terrible date with someone they met through the
internet, although two-thirds said that they had had more good dates than bad.
Americans are also familiar with online dating disasters. Over half
indicated that they've had at least one disaster date with someone they met
online, but 64 percent said that they'd had more good dates than bad.
Online daters who do end up meeting face-to-face have a remarkable success
rate, with 25 percent of all respondents having met their spouse or life partner
through online dating. Americans (42 percent) and the French (28 percent) are the
most successful in taking online love offline, while for most Filipinos (3 percent)
online dating doesn't usually lead to long term love.
Stranger danger
Despite the success of some, for many people online dating is still a concept
they just aren't comfortable with.
Ninety five percent of Koreans who haven't dated online said they would not
consider using the internet to find a romantic partner, along with 85 percent
of Brazilians and 84 percent of Singaporeans.
Synovate's Managing Director in Singapore, Miranda Cheung, said with only
4 percent of Singaporeans having ever used an online dating service, internet
dating is not that popular despite the country's high rate of internet
penetration.
"The government in Singapore has played an active role in matching up singles
for the past few decades so the concept of using the internet to find a partner
is not top of mind for Singaporean consumers," she said.
"Although the government's participation is now evolving towards a more
hands-off approach with a regulatory board overseeing the private dating
agencies, people are more familiar with the traditional agencies than
they are with online options."
Synovate also discovered many negative perceptions about internet dating
globally, some of which may contribute to respondents' online dating hesitation.
Almost one-third of those respondents who would not consider online dating
believe that it could be dangerous, a perception that may be reinforced by
the 77 percent of consumers globally who believe that most people lie in
their online dating profile.
Americans are most convinced that people are dishonest in their online
dating profiles (84 percent), followed closely by Brazilians and Filipinos
at 82 percent each.
What's the main reason you would not consider using an online personal
ad or online dating service? (Base: Would not consider using an online
personal ad or online dating service)
But when it comes down to it, it may simply be a case of online dating being
seen as the domain of the desperate and dateless.
With close to one-third of respondents globally stating that "only desperate
people use online dating", it may be a long time before many people can shake
the desperado perception and start looking for love online.
