Older adults who are divorced are significantly more likely to use these online dating sites than those who are widowed or have never married AARP, Interestingly, one study cited by McWilliams and Barrett found that men see online dating as a way to quickly jump back into dating following the end of a relationship through death or divorce, whereas women use online sites as a way to ease into the idea of dating again. As with most things, there are both positives and negatives associated with online dating.
It is important to be aware of them in order to make an informed decision of whether to use or not use Internet sites to cultivate new relationships. To summarize, there are several pros and cons to online dating. Some of the positives include growing a social network, gaining new friends and having a sense of safety and control. However, some of the drawbacks to dating online include the time, effort, lack of success, unwanted sexual messages, and the risk of people misrepresenting themselves.
Nevertheless, in this age of technology, there are so many new opportunities, including online dating for adults in later life. It is important to weigh the positives and negatives and decide for oneself if this approach to meeting people is worth it. Dating in Later Life No one likes to be alone, and that includes older adults. Utah State University sites use cookies. By continuing to use this site you accept our privacy and cookie policy.
I agree. Close Open search. Close Quick Links. Whereas living close by and having the physical ability to go out and socialize used to be prerequisites to meeting new people, online dating has decreased these geographical, transportation, and physical limitations, thus allowing for older adults to expand their social network to include potential dating partners. Online dating is also beneficial when other ways of meeting new people fail to work.
Even when online dating yields little success in creating new relationships, it is seen by some as the only way to connect with new people so they keep using it Vandeweerd et al.
