IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/socsci/v91y2010i2p554-575.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Social Demography of Internet Dating in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Jessica M. Sautter
  • Rebecca M. Tippett
  • S. Philip Morgan

Abstract

Objective. The objective of this article is to identify the sociodemographic correlates of Internet dating net of selective processes that determine who is “at risk.” We also examine the role of computer literacy, social networks, and attitudes toward Internet dating among single Internet users. Methods. We use multivariate logistic regression to analyze 3,215 respondents from the first nationally representative U.S. survey of Internet dating. Results. Sociodemographic factors have strong effects on Internet access and single status but weak effects on use of Internet dating services once the sample is conditioned on these factors. For this “at‐risk” subpopulation, computer literacy and social networks strongly influence the likelihood of Internet dating. Conclusions. Internet dating is a common mate selection strategy among the highly selective subpopulation of single Internet users and may continue to grow through social networks. Material and virtual elements of the digital divide have direct and indirect effects on Internet dating.

Suggested Citation

  • Jessica M. Sautter & Rebecca M. Tippett & S. Philip Morgan, 2010. "The Social Demography of Internet Dating in the United States," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 91(2), pages 554-575, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:91:y:2010:i:2:p:554-575
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2010.00707.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2010.00707.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2010.00707.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paul DiMaggio & Eszter Hargittai & W. Russell Neuman & John P. Robinson, 2001. "Social Implications of the Internet," Working Papers 159, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies..
    2. repec:pri:cpanda:wp17%20-%20dimaggio,%20hargittai,%20neuman,%20robinson is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Nicole Zillien & Eszter Hargittai, 2009. "Digital Distinction: Status‐Specific Types of Internet Usage," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 90(2), pages 274-291, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. repec:plo:pone00:0194277 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Richard Lampard, 2020. "Meeting Online or Offline? Patterns and Trends for Co-Resident Couples in Early 21st-Century Britain," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 25(4), pages 589-608, December.
    3. Zhang, Jiaping & Yan, Qing & Guo, Wenxin & Gong, Xiaomei & Cheng, Mingwang & Yu, Ning, 2020. "Rainbow over the Internet: How Internet use curtails homophobia in China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Volker Lang & Steffen Hillmert, 2016. "Differential trends in households’ connection to the Internet: An actor-centered explanation," Rationality and Society, , vol. 28(2), pages 141-171, May.
    2. Liu, Chun & Liu, Hao & Zhang, Huiping & Yuan, Qin, 2023. "The impact of internet use on the perceptions of class boundaries and life trajectories: A report from a representative survey in China," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10).
    3. Ren, Wei & Zhu, Xiaowen, 2024. "The age-based digital divides in China: Trends and socioeconomic differentials (2010–2020)," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3).
    4. Jennifer Chun-Li Wu & Sandra B. Sebre & Roma Jusienė & Vilmantė Pakalniškienė & Anika Miltuze & Yi-Fan Li, 2021. "Personal and Family Sociodemographic Correlates of Types of Online Activities in School-Aged Children: a Multicountry Study," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(4), pages 1415-1434, August.
    5. Angelo Antoci & Fabio Sabatini, 2018. "Online networks, social interaction and segregation: an evolutionary approach," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 28(4), pages 859-883, September.
    6. Wu, Haitao & Ba, Ning & Ren, Siyu & Xu, Lu & Chai, Jingxia & Irfan, Muhammad & Hao, Yu & Lu, Zhi-Nan, 2022. "The impact of internet development on the health of Chinese residents: Transmission mechanisms and empirical tests," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. Yanina Welp & Ferran Urgell & Eduard Aibar, 2007. "From Bureaucratic Administration to Network Administration? An Empirical Study on E-Government Focus on Catalonia," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 299-316, December.
    8. Victoria Ateca-Amestoy & Concetta Castiglione, 2016. "The consumption of cultural goods through the internet. How is it affected by the digital divide?," ACEI Working Paper Series AWP-04-2016, Association for Cultural Economics International, revised May 2016.
    9. Stan Geertman & John Stillwell, 2020. "Planning support science: Developments and challenges," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 47(8), pages 1326-1342, October.
    10. Marta Palczyńska & Maja Rynko, 2021. "ICT skills measurement in social surveys: Can we trust self-reports?," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 917-943, June.
    11. Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Davidson Okai & Alberto Posso, 2016. "Internet Use and Ethnic Heterogeneity in a Cross-Section of Countries," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 35(1), pages 59-72, March.
    12. Angelo Antoci & Alexia Delfino & Fabio Paglieri & Fabrizio Panebianco & Fabio Sabatini, 2016. "Civility vs. Incivility in Online Social Interactions: An Evolutionary Approach," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(11), pages 1-17, November.
    13. Carlota Batres & David I Perrett, 2014. "The Influence of the Digital Divide on Face Preferences in El Salvador: People without Internet Access Prefer More Feminine Men, More Masculine Women, and Women with Higher Adiposity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(7), pages 1-6, July.
    14. He, Yuan & Li, Ke & Wang, Yipan, 2022. "Crossing the digital divide: The impact of the digital economy on elderly individuals’ consumption upgrade in China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    15. Özbay, Özden, 2008. "Does social capital deter youth from cheating, alcohol use, and violence in Turkey?: Bringing torpil in," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 403-415, September.
    16. Maximilian Weber & Birgit Becker, 2019. "Browsing the Web for School: Social Inequality in Adolescents’ School-Related Use of the Internet," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(2), pages 21582440198, June.
    17. Ake-Kob, Alin & Blazeviciene, Aurelija & Colonna, Liane & Cartolovni, Anto & Dantas, Carina & Fedosov, Anton & Florez-Revuelta, Francisco & Fosch-Villaronga, Eduard & He, Zhicheng & Klimczuk, Andrzej , 2021. "State of the art on ethical, legal, and social issues linked to audio- and video-based AAL solutions," EconStor Research Reports 248470, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    18. Castillo-Tellez, Luis Carlos, 2023. "Bibliometric Analysis of European Research on Digital Divide: An Exploration of the Corporate Landscape," 32nd European Regional ITS Conference, Madrid 2023: Realising the digital decade in the European Union – Easier said than done? 277949, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    19. Francisco Lupiañez & Cristiano Codagnone & Rosa Dalet, 2015. "ICT for the employability and integration of immigrants in the European Union: Results from a survey in three Member States," JRC Research Reports JRC93960, Joint Research Centre.
    20. Isabella Mingo & Roberta Bracciale, 2018. "The Matthew Effect in the Italian Digital Context: The Progressive Marginalisation of the “Poor”," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 629-659, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:91:y:2010:i:2:p:554-575. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0038-4941 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.