The Main Tendencies of Online Daters

The study, which has been published in the journal Computers and Human Behaviour, posed a number of questions to its participants. The most important ones included questions which aimed to determine the participants’ dominant personality traits. Those who transpired to have neurotic tendencies (such as low self-esteem, anxiety, moodiness and depression) were more likely to use online dating sites as a form of escape, or even help them create a new persona different to their offline one.

A Few Surprising and Interesting Discoveries

There was some surprising information discovered by Clemens and his team. The study determined that extroverted individuals were far less likely to use online dating sites. Extroverts, Clemens originally believed, are more likely to use as many channels of communication as possible in order to meet new people. Apparently, this is not the case according to the study. “We reasoned that they would probably prefer interactions personally or face to face, instead of through mediated communication channels,” says Clemens.

Other discoveries included the difference in use between heterosexual and homosexual users, as well as the differences between genders. Women, according to the study, were more likely to use online dating sites in order to be social, look for advice regarding relationships or keeping in touch. They were less likely, however, to look solely for sexual partners. Homosexual users, on the other hand, were likely to use online dating for a variety of different things.

Further Studies

After the recent findings, Clemens and his team stated that they are planning on carrying out more studies regarding the topic in the future. In the original study, none of the questions focused on what dating sites people used, rather focusing on actual usage of such sites. Things will be different in future studies, however, as Clemens stated that companies like Match.com could heed their advice in the future and use the studies to make their sites more user-friendly and interactive.