What Online Dating Profiles Say About Our View Of Aging
Posted on November 13, 2017
WALL STREET JOURNAL – Nov 12 – Online dating is growing in popularity among single and divorced individuals in their 50s and older. The use of dating sites has doubled from 6% to 12% of 55- to 64-year olds since 2013, according to the Pew Research Center. A recent study by aging researchers Eden Davis and Karen Fingerman at The University of Texas at Austin looked at 4k profiles of individuals 18 – 95 years old from two large online dating services. They discovered that younger daters tended to use more first-person singular pronouns ("I," "me," and "my") and descriptions of work, achievements and negative emotions compared to the older daters, who used more first-person plural pronouns ("we," "us," and "our") and emphasized relationships with others as well as positive emotions. That shows that older adults prioritize social connections, good health and positive emotional experiences.
