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Online Dating Continues To Become More Socially Acceptable, But College Age Individuals Prefer To Use Facebook

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Online dating has continued to become a more socially acceptable option for the single community. For the first time ever, more people viewed online dating (59 percent) favorably than not, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Projects. No longer must shamed Matched.com couples or Ok Cupid beneficiaries devise their own "how we met stories."

College-aged individuals may be one of the least likely groups to have used online dating (10 percent), but the post college age group of 25-34, was actually the highest users at nearly 25 percent, according to the Pew survey. Attending at least some college made people more likely to turn to the internet for romance.

Between ages 35-44 online dating continued to be a popular option at 17 percent, but after age 44 it was no longer common, as per the Pew survey.

College age individuals are not registering for and using dating sites, but they are still engaging in some form of online dating. Forty seven percent of responders ages 18-24 said they flirted with someone online either through Facebook or another online medium - compared to 40 percent for the 35-44 age group and 24 percent overall, according to Pew. Those ages 18-24 were also more likely to use Facebook or another internet source to check on ex-lovers.  

Just because someone finds a date through eHarmony (No. 2 most popular dating site behind Match) doesn't mean he or she is looking for a relationship. Though 46 percent of users were indeed seeking a long term relationship, 25 percent said they "just want to have fun without being in a serious relationship."

Not all experiences were fun. Fifty four percent of users said the person they met misrepresented themselves in some way. Twenty eight percent reported feeling uncomfortable by the messages they received from other users online, according to the Pew survey.

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