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Serious relationships have moved online
Last reviewed: 08.07.2025

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Girls who have access to the Internet from home have good advantages for quickly concluding long-term romantic relationships. This is the conclusion reached by psychologists from Stanford University. A team of experts led by Professor Michael Rosenfeld studied 4,002 adult men and women, of whom 3,009 were spouses or had serious partnerships. Half of the participants used dating sites at work, and the other half used the virtual world from home.
The study found that the Internet is becoming a leading social arena, particularly as a place where couples not only meet but form long-term relationships. The study also found that the virtual space has become especially important for finding potential partners in groups of people who, for some reasons, have difficulty finding friends, husbands and wives, such as gays, lesbians and middle-aged heterosexuals.
According to the study, 82.2% of the volunteers who had access to the Internet at home found their significant other, romantic friend, or sexual partner fairly quickly, compared to 62.8% who used the network at the office. Online communication is not only a new and more effective way to stay in touch with existing social positions, but also an effective mediator that helps to improve personal life in real conditions, added co-author Dr. Reuben Thomas from New York University.