How Americans Meet Their Mate Has Changed A Lot In 30 Years

This chart has been making the rounds lately — presumably in response to the landmark Same-sex marriage decision from the Supreme Court last week. It's from an August 2012 paper by Michael Rosenfeld and Reuben Thomas. We first saw it on the /r/DataIsBeautiful subreddit section of Reddit.

The chart shows the changing face of how Americans meet each other and initiate relationships. By far the most interesting aspect is the explosive growth in online dating leading to successful real-world relationships, particularly among same-sex partners.

Also interesting is the declining role of family when it comes to meeting partners, the steady growth of bars as a place to meet partners, and the dominance of your friends as a dating tool.

Click the chart to enlarge:

online dating
online dating

American Sociological Review

See the whole paper here >

(Via @azizonomics)



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