Yahoo News Couples who meet on dating apps are more likely to get divorced, study
Couples who meet on dating apps are six times more likely to get divorced within the first three years of marriage, a study found.
Researchers surveyed 2,027 married adults over the age of 30 and found that those who met on apps such as Tinder were at greater risk of an early break up than those who met through a traditional route.
People who met at school or university were the most likely to stay together after a decade, with only 13 per cent divorced.
The research suggests that those who meet virtually are a greater risk of divorce because they could be “relative strangers” when they get hitched.
Harry Benson, research director of family breakdown charity Marriage Foundation, told the Sunday Times that partners who meet on the internet may “lack sufficient social capital or close support networks around them to deal with all the challenges they face when compared to those who met via friends, family or neighbours”.
“Couples [who met online] are marrying as relative strangers,” he said.
The study, titled Relative Strangers: The importance of social capital for marriage, suggests that the divorce rate between those who meet online or through family and friends starts to narrow after five years.
Previous studies have suggested that more people will meet their partner online than offline by 2035 if current trends continue.
According to research by dating platform eHarmony and the Imperial College Business School, by 2037 most babies born in Britain could be born to parents who met online.
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