Online dating? Buyer beware   |  November 17, 2008  

Inaccurate profiles are not a major deterrent for those who frequent online dating sites

By Mark Laver

SWM, 42, HWP, LD, WLTM, SWF w/ SOH. If you know what those acronyms mean you may have tried the online dating scene, along with 11 per cent of online Canadians and 6 per cent who actively use such Web sites. This is according to a new Ipsos Reid study examining the online dating world from the long-standing Inter@ctive Reid Report. Lavalife, eHarmony, PlentyofFish, Match, Reseaucontact: the number and variety of online dating Web sites is seemingly endless, but where does one start?

While online dating site users indicate they are generally finding people to meet and date on these sites, they also indicate that most users do not provide accurate information about themselves. In fact, only 30 per cent of online daters agreed that others provide accurate information. Not everyone is using the online dating world for courting, though. Only half (45 per cent) are doing so for dating purposes, where one-quarter (25 per cent) want to make new friends, and an additional one-quarter (24 per cent) are simply curious.

Inaccurate profiles do not appear to be discouraging online daters. Want a casual encounter? Two-thirds (67 per cent) of online daters agreed that online dating Web sites are great for casual encounters. Furthermore, an additional two-thirds of participants agreed they have been able to meet the right kind of people online (61 per cent) and that online dating is easier than finding someone in-person (60 per cent). Males and those 18-34 are significantly more likely to agree with each of these statements. Perhaps not surprisingly, 1 per cent of those people using online dating Web sites are currently married.

Clearly new users should approach the online dating scene with caution and perhaps not set their expectations too high. That being said, many people appear to be having some degree of dating success in the online world.

With a plethora of online dating Web sites out there in cyberspace, one problem all online dating sites appear to have is a unique way of differentiating themselves, with one-half (51 per cent) of online daters agreeing that all online dating sites are basically the same.

The death of in-person dating?
As Canadians continue to spend more and more time online does this mean an end to personal interactions? Probably not, with the vast majority of the population already in a relationship, there is simply no need for them to join an online dating site. Eighty five per cent indicate that they have never used an online dating Web site. Furthermore, while 39 per cent of those that had used an online dating service in the past state that they met their current partner through an online site, those that did not amount to almost two-thirds (61 per cent). These people met through so-called traditional methods such as friends (18 per cent), a public meeting place such as a bar or a coffee shop (18 per cent), or at work (10 per cent). 

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Mark Laver is an associate vice-president at Ipsos Reid and the study author.


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