Dating through the decades: Study shows rapid growth from family-friend meet-ups to online dating

Clarence Ford speaks to Barbara Friedman (Digital Content Editor for Primedia Plus) about trending online stories. 

(Skip to 6:37 for this one.)

A Stanford study researched 'How Couples Meet and Stay Together 2017' (HCMST 2017).

The study features a fresh set of 3510 survey respondents, with no overlap in subjects from the original HCMST survey which was first fielded in 2009. 

The 2017 subjects were followed up in 2020 (2,107 subjects) and in 2022 (1,722) subjects.

HCMST 2017 featured new questions about subjects' use of phone apps like Tinder and Grindr for dating and meeting partners.

HCMST 2020 and 2022 featured the usual HCMST relationship questions plus a lot of new questions about the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

The data gathered was formulated into a graph showing how couples met changed through the decades and shows a 'fascinating' trend, says Friedman.

The trend spikes 'very quickly' from couples meeting via family and friends pre-online era to meeting online on social media or through dating apps - the latter dominating how couples meet today as 60% of couples now meet online. 

Watch the trend below:

"I know it seems obvious to us now but it's just so fascinating to look at how quickly this escalated over the past number of years..."

- Barbara Friedman, Digital Content Editor - Primedia Plus

"I just think that the speed at which the change in the rapid global shift in behaviour is what fascinates me, it's exponentially fast."

- Barbara Friedman, Digital Content Editor - Primedia Plus

"It is much harder to be fooled in real life by someone than online. You know, a lot of people's problems when they're first dating is... don't chat and chat for weeks and weeks and almost fall in love with someone online, just have a coffee with them in real life first."

- Barbara Friedman, Digital Content Editor - Primedia Plus