Here is another reader email question.

Names have been changed or removed for privacy.



My Answer:

Hi,

Good question and unfortunately it is a little hard to answer as online dating services tend to keep this information to themselves.

I will however, make an educated guess for you.

As far as difference in genders, I would take a look at the dating site eHarmony. This dating service is just for people looking for a long term relationship and/or marriage so it makes a good overall dating industry example. Their estimated gender ratio (in 2008) is 38% males to 62% females (see Story).

Another attribute I find which affects those who are looking for a long term relationship is age. Younger singles (in their twenties and early thirties) tend to be less interested in something long-term and are more interested in just short-term dating.

As far as what are the proportions of "serious daters" to "non-serious daters" who use the internet, let's just use statistics from the United States for our answer. It has been estimated that there are 90 million adult singles (18+) in the United States with about 40 million of them using the internet to find a partner. Taking all ages into consideration, I would estimate that about 55% to 60% are looking for a long-term relationship.

I Hope this answers your question.

Tom

Tom just about covered it all. As he alluded to, it also depends on the site. If you utilize the foreign sites, many of the women are looking for a serious relationship but their motivation is often to find someone to sponsor them. If you do go the foreign route, however, be very careful to avoid any scams.
Good luck in your search.

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Physician and freelance writer