Online dating proves successful when marriage is being the intention, but proves failure for casual dating.

In the past decade, online dating has become increasingly more popular in the quest to find a significant other. One in ten million Americans have reported using online dating, and two thirds of those report going on a date with someone that they met online.  Websites such as E-Harmony and Match.com are extremely popular among people who seek to use online dating’s many tools in connecting people.

Researchers surveyed relationships rooting from the internet over long periods of time.

In a study done by Dr. Aditi Paul in 2014, the success of relationships among 4,002 respondents were measured using the longitudinal survey, “How Couples Meet and Stay Together,” or HCMST. The surveys were taken in three waves: Wave I was taken at the start, Wave II was taken after one year and Wave III was taken after three years. It essentially asked the participants questions about their perceived success of their relationships. The researchers ended up finding that relationships that started online were less likely to be successful in marriage than their offline counterparts.

Casual romantic relationships can flourish online.

The majority of people using online dating tend to be looking for casual dating relationships, and these are proved to thrive in an online setting. 67% of the couples met online were in romantic, non-marital relationships. Therefore, it is important to use online dating at the discretion that a user will be less likely to find a successful long-term relationship that leads to marriage, however for a basic level of companionship, it can be a wonderful pathway for connecting two people.

There are three phenomena that explain the gap in relationships that are rooted in online dating versus those started in the real world.

It is astonishing that data can predict the patterns in relationships based on where they are started. One reason that marital relationships aren’t as successful when coming from the online world is because of the large number of options that are available to the participant at any given instant. People don’t put as many expectations into a possible online relationship, because they have thousands of other alternatives at their fingertips. *comparison level visual

The amount of time that it takes for a relationship to develop online is dramatically longer than in real life. The process involves making up a profile, looking through others’ profiles, matching, chatting online and assuming all of these steps happen without a hitch, meeting in real life. Online relationships do not mature as quickly as offline ones because of this lengthy process. However, this also explains why they do well for casual relationships that don’t need to make it into a sophisticated stage to be successful.

Online daters are more cautious about how their relationships develop, because establishing a level of trust can be difficult through a computer screen. It is more difficult to understand someone’s real identity without communicating face-to-face. Therefore, partners are cautious when disclosing information because they are weary of who they are talking to on the other side of the web.

Online dating can be quite useful if each participant knows what he or she are looking for.

Essentially, don’t go looking for a wedding when creating an online dating profile. People are less likely to get married if they met online, and if they get married, are less likely to stay together in a happy relationship. When logging on to eHarmony, seeking a casual relationship will provide a more successful basis for finding a relationship partner.