インターネット・パワー

ゲイは、パートナーやボーイフレンドをインターネットで見つける率が高い、というのがとある調査結果で実証されてたらしい。いまさら、って感じの調査結果だけど、改めて数字で示されると、逃げ道を閉ざされた気になっちゃう。。。

調査結果をかいつまんで言うと、調査対象となった同性カップルのうち61％はネットで知り合ったそうな。それが異性カップルになると、わずか21.5％。やっぱり、知人を通して知り合うというのが最大を占めるそうな。

だけど、このネットのご時勢にあっても61％しかネットで知り合ってないとも言えるんじゃない？残る39％はどうやって知り合ったんだろう？やっぱ知り合いを通して？それかバーとか、ゲイがよく集まる場所っていうのもあるよね。

これまでの経験からして、ネットって匿名性が高いから、深い信頼関係を築くのにはハードルが高い。新しい人に出会うのは簡単だけど、無限に可能性があるぶん、一回の出会いの重要度が下がってると思うし、ネットはアレだけを目的にしてる人がやたらと多いのも問題。やっぱりソーシャルな状況で対面で知り合うとまじめなお付き合いに発展する可能性が高いと思うんだけどなぁ～。

Being online can boost your chances of being in love

NEW YORK | Mon Aug 16, 2010 10:50am EDT

NEW YORK Aug 16 (Reuters Life!) - People who have Internet access at home are more likely to be in a relationship, with the Web gaining in importance as a meeting place for those seeking love, according to U.S. research.

Researchers from Stanford University said the Internet is especially important for bringing together same-sex couples and may soon replace friends as the main way in which Americans meet their partners.

"Although prior research on the social impacts of Internet use has been rather ambiguous about the social cost of time spent online, our research suggests that Internet access has an important role to play in helping Americans find mates," said Michael Rosenfeld, an associate professor of sociology.

The study, which was presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Atlanta on Monday, showed that 82.2 percent of people in the study who had Internet access at home also had a spouse or romantic partner, compared to 62.8 percent for those who did not have Internet access.

The study used data from a winter 2009 survey of 4,002 adults across the United States. Slightly more than 3,000 had a spouse or romantic partner.

Rosenfeld and Reuben Thomas, of the City University of New York, found the Internet is the one social arena that is unambiguously gaining importance as a place where couples meet.

"It is possible that in the next several years the Internet could eclipse friends as the most influential way Americans meet their romantic partners, displacing friends out of the top position for the first time since the early 1940s," Rosenfeld said in a statement.

The researchers said they found that the Internet was especially important for finding potential partners in groups where the supply is small or difficult to identify such as in the gay, lesbian, and middle-aged heterosexual communities.

Rosenfeld said that among the couples who met within two years of the survey, 61 percent of same-sex couples and 21.5 percent of heterosexual couples met online.

"Couples who meet online are much more likely to be same-sex couples, and somewhat more likely to be from different religious backgrounds," Rosenfeld said.

(Writing by Belinda Goldsmith;belinda.goldsmith@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: belinda.goldsmith.reuters.com@reuters.net; +61 2 9373 1800; For other lifestyle news see: http:www.reuters.com/news/lifestyle))