A question that is often asked is whether online dating is a good way to find the right partner, considering that we are initially meeting a stranger or someone with whom we have had very little contact. But can we have a stable and long-term relationship with someone we met online?
About ten years ago, researcher John Cacioppo and his colleagues suggested that the most successful marriages, and those that did not end prematurely, were more likely to have been initiated through online dating. An advantage of online dating is that it offers a large choice of partners, which may not exist in face-to-face dating.
Relationships that begin face-to-face through social or work connections often include a network of mutual friends, who are important to sustaining a relationship.
However, those who meet through social networks do not have such a support structure because they are virtually unknown before they meet. Conversations on social networks can compensate for the lack of this social supporter.
In the last decade we have seen huge changes in the way and extent of use of social networks and online messaging. There is also evidence that people are much more honest online and share more information than they would face to face.
A recent study by Junwen Hu and colleagues analyzed two aspects: first, whether where people meet (online or face-to-face) affects relationship success, and second, whether social media relationship conversations affect relationship success. the relationship.
The researchers recorded whether the study participants had met online or face-to-face and whether they were in a married relationship or not. They measured relationship success with questions such as, "Overall, how would you say things are going in your relationship?" They answered on a four-point scale from very well to not at all well.
The results of this study show that communication on social networks can have a significant impact on the success of relationships, especially for those who do not have many friends.
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