According to Ian Davis, the managing director of McKinsey (guess where I have been spending my online time) "12 per cent of American newlyweds last year met online."
What?
12% is like 250,000 - 300,000 marriages.
I think that is a tad depressing. I have a few friends and acquaintances who are out exploring the world (zeemer: ASIA!!!) and lament the fact that people in North America are not as friendly or outgoing with strangers as they are in other places. I brushed it off because it is so easy to make friends in all of the life experiences I have had so far (travelling, university, roomate filled accomodation) but 12% is a scary figure. 12% of people obviously looking for a long term relationship had to resort to anonymous communication to actually meet a person.
Shit ... we have to introduce more community. Grandparents first, then strangers. There is no reason why people cannot be meeting people around them.
Of course, I hate it when strangers bug me. Fucking strangers. I am reading something asshole. Can't you see the fucking earphones?
Whatever happened to that book project where everyone was supposed to read the same book so we would have something in common other than a general feeling of distaste for americans?
People should be required to talk on buses. I am going to start talking to people on buses. I will tell you how it goes.
3 comments:
How many newlyweds were there in american last year? I think your numbers are a bit high, out of 250 million americans i would think that less than 300,000 were newlyweds (within their first year of marriage) last year, let alone newlyweds that met online. If it is true that over 300,000 people were within their fist year of marriage in the states last year then i would like to think that the problem is that too many people are rushing to commit to eachother (and that this is perhaps why the divorce rate is 50%).
mmm, I should have included links to stats:
I found that there were 2.2 million marriages (from the census bureau's valentines day site. Search google: number of marriages in the US) so math got me to the 250,000 marriages.
i tried to find stats for divorce rates for people who met online. It is a relatively new phenomenom, so trustworthy stats may not exist. If you can find them, I would love to see them.
As for rushing to commit, fine, but that doesn't address the main problem which is an inability to meet people through the normal channels. Perhaps if people were able to meet more people there would be no fear of not finding someone else and perhaps less rushing into something inappropriate.
The thing about the online meetings is that sometimes they work. I've met a couple who met online (they tell people they met through friends) and they got married last summer.
I think they'll be happy.
I think judging people for how they meet is a good way to cut yourself off . I'm not saying set up a profile on lavalife, but I'm saying, if it works for them, don't knock it.
Cos my way, of dating people I meet through friends, has resulted in some non-results and a seriously broken heart.
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