Those who found a partner online are more dissatisfied with their relationship

From the Internet those who have found their partner are more dissatisfied in their relationship and love less than those who have met in real life.

This is what the international team led by the University of Wrocław in Poland says researchin which a representative sample of people of different ages, in a relationship, from 50 countries participated. Finland and the other Nordic countries were not involved.

The participants were asked how satisfied they were with their relationship on a five-point scale. In addition, they answered a battery of questions that measured three dimensions of romantic love: intimacy, passion, and commitment.

Those who mated online experienced less satisfaction and dimensions of love, sums up the person who participated in the research Adam Bode from the Australian National University (ANU) in the bulletin.

The biggest difference was commitment.

For the result according to the researchers, there are several possible explanations. Previous studies have shown that the education, ethnic background and religion of spouses who found each other in traditional ways are closer to each other than those who met online.

Those coming from different backgrounds may find it more difficult to find common ways and values, which are known to promote the permanence of the relationship, the researchers reasoned in their report.

Those who met through friends or family get more natural support for the relationship from their close circle.

Commitment may be weakened by the endless choice of the Internet, which can fuel comparison and doubts even in a relationship. Online porn replaces real sex, and instant relationships easily found on the Internet are partner sex.

Researchers have also identified a trend they call “cold intimacy”. It means that getting into a relationship is weighed from the point of view of the practical benefits.

In total Of the 6,600 surveyed, one in six had found their partner online.

Poles had the most couples online: one in three. Only 7 percent of the Ghanaians surveyed had met online.

The shares increased over time. After 2010, one in five couples had met online – and almost half of the Poles.

The numbers are similar in other areas as well in studies. More and more of the world’s relationships are formed via the Internet.

Contrary to expectations and previous results, country people and city people were equally likely to mate online, as were young and old.

Average the differences in the relationship happiness of those encountered online and elsewhere were not explained away by the participants’ age, gender, length of relationship, socio-economic status, education or sexual orientation. For men, the differences were greater than for women.

According to the researchers, it is still not possible to conclude with certainty that online relationships are less satisfying than others.

In the early in the study the result was that relationships made on the Internet lasted better than others and were at least not unhappier.

According to the researchers, changes in matchmaking services may affect the results.

Current game-like applications guide you to a quick selection based on appearance and other superficial aspects. In the past, services may have emphasized compatibility of features and wishes.

“Early users were looking for a permanent partner, today’s users are increasingly looking for a temporary relationship. This transition can reduce the quality of relationships,” says Bode.