Australian adults are increasingly turning to the Internet to find love or make friends, according to a national survey by the Australian Centre for Emerging Technologies and Society at Swinburne University of Technology.
“It is no longer just an ‘urban myth’ that people are searching for love and friendships online, it is an Australian reality,” said survey author, Dr Simone Buzwell.
The national telephone survey of over 1000 adults aged 18 – 80 found that 13 percent had formed social relationships on the Internet.
“Most online relationships were friendships (79%), but a substantial proportion of adults said they found romance online (21%),” said Dr Buzwell
Interestingly, there was no crossover between those seeking love and those seeking friends – the survey found that Australians used the net for finding one or the other.
“We found that cyber-socialisers tended to be young, single women and men who were comfortable with new technology, more likely to vote Green than Liberal, and who regularly used the Internet to make friends,” continued Dr Buzwell.
The survey also found that men and women were both as likely to seek love online. But online adultery was found to be common with partnered adults as likely to use the Internet to find love as singles were.
There’s not a bad success rate either – the survey found that 32 percent of relationships formed online were long-lasting.
