DailyDirt: The Mating Behavior of Online Daters

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Online dating sites provide a vast amount of interesting data for researchers studying human behavior. These sites record how much people lie about themselves to try to impress others, and dating sites contain a wide variety of personal data that can be sliced and diced according to age, gender, income, education, interests, you-name-it. Here are just a few studies that have looked at digital dating databases for insights into the minds of people searching for soul mates and long walks on the beach.

• A study of 18 different dating sites, including eHarmony, Match, Plenty of Fish and Yahoo Personal, suggests that online daters are maybe slightly more successful at finding spouses than offline daters. The study also pointed out that there wasn't much difference between dating sites based on breakup rates, although some online dating sites had higher ratings for marriage satisfaction. (A+++ Would marry again!) [url]
• A meta-analysis for over 400 academic studies about online dating stated that about 25 million people use dating websites. The results of online dating aren't exactly conclusive, but with more and more people meeting mates with the help of websites, "online dating" is getting to be just like "dating". [url]
• About 81% of online daters misrepresent the facts about how tall, how heavy, or how old they are. Interestingly, people with online dating profiles are also more likely to admit to being fat than being conservative. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: marriage, matching, online dating, personal data, relationships, romance
Companies: eharmony, match.com

DailyDirt: Romantic Fast Food For Valentine's Day?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Lots of people get married or propose on Valentine's day, and the diamond industry has successfully made its shiny minerals part of the wedding tradition. But can fast food restaurants get into this romantic ritual, too? Here are just a few ways that couples can get hitched --along with a reasonably priced meal.

• Order your perfect Pizza Hut proposal for just $10,010 (plus tax) which includes a $10 dinner box. Limit 1 per customer. Supplies are limited. [url]
• An Illinois couple tied the knot at a Taco Bell -- with the bride wearing a $15 "Taco Bell purple" wedding dress. Make a run for the border, indeed. [url]
• There have actually been several white weddings at White Castles over the last few years. "It was the most amazing thing I could ever hope for..." [url]
• McDonald's in Hong Kong offers a variety of wedding-themed decorations and services -- including wedding dresses and photography sessions. Are you lovin' it? [url]
• To discover more food-related links, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: food, marriage, proposals, romance, valentine's day, weddings
Companies: mcdonalds, pizza hut, taco bell, white castle