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The
survey of 2,001 U.S. grown-ups by the Pew Research Center said
on Thursday that 15 percent have used online dating sites and/or
mobile dating applications, up from 11 percent in early 2013.
Twenty-seven percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 say they use
online dating, almost triple the level in 2013. The number that
have used dating applications such as Tinder on a mobile device
has risen to 22 percent from 5 percent, the survey said.
Users of the high-tech tools can "really narrow down their pool
of potential partners in a way that's much more efficient and
simple than it might have been in the past," said Aaron Smith,
associate director for Internet research at Pew.
Dating apps on cell phones have been used by almost one in 10
U.S. adults, triple the level three years ago.
Among Americans 55 to 64 years old, 12 percent have used online
dating, double the percentage three years ago, the survey said.
Four of five Americans who have gone online to find a date say
it is a good way to meet people, and 62 percent agree that
online dating helps people find a better match.
But the survey shows the caveats that come with going into
cyberspace for a date. Forty-five percent of online dating users
agree that it is more dangerous than other ways of meeting
people.
Almost a third say that online dating keeps people from settling
down, because they always have dating options.
Smith said release of the survey results had been timed to
coincide with Valentine's Day on Sunday.
"We thought this was an interesting angle on the state of modern
love," said Smith.
The telephone poll was carried out via landline and cellphone
interviews in English and Spanish from June 10 through July 12,
2015, among a sample of adults 18 years of age or older in all
50 states and the District of Columbia. The margin of error is
2.5 percentage points.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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