| E-Mail and Instant Messaging Flirting Are Taking Over As Matchmakers Men Lead Women in the Online Quest to Find Love |
“So it's not surprising that many of them engage in online flirting, visit dating chat rooms, and create customized, flirtatious instant messages and/or e-mails.”
Those looking to set off some sparks this Valentine's Day take note: online flirting is a hot hobby, according to a pre-Valentine's Day love.com(TM) survey of unmarried adults by Opinion Research Corporation. The love.com survey uncovered that almost one in four (23%) said that they flirt via email or instant messaging, with more men saying they do so than women, and that flirting is a popular way to attract dates. Additionally, the survey uncovered that approximately one in ten unmarried adults with Internet access have tried an online dating service or are currently using one.
The survey results follow the recent launch of love.com, a new real-time personals service available to Internet users that features the AOL(R) Instant Messenger(TM) (AIM(R)) service, the largest and most active instant messaging community in the world. love.com creates the opportunity to meet new people for a new friendship - or more -online and on the go. A free preview of the service is available through Valentine's Day allowing users to post a profile, view other profiles and contact other love.com users.
According to the survey, those who ask someone out via instant message flirt for an average four weeks before doing so. Those who flirt online during the day spend an average of 42 minutes doing so. The survey also found that far more men admit to Internet flirting than women -- 31% of men say they flirt online versus 15% of women. When examined on a regional level, adults in the Northeast and West are more likely to flirt online (27%) than those in the Midwest and South (19%).
"Today's singles are becoming more and more savvy when it comes to playing the online dating game," said Regina Lewis, AOL Consumer Advisor. "So it's not surprising that many of them engage in online flirting, visit dating chat rooms, and create customized, flirtatious instant messages and/or e-mails."
The survey also found that men and women not only use the Internet to flirt and chat with other singles, but to search for prospective dates. In fact, one in ten single adults who have Internet access have conducted an online search for someone before they have gone out with that person. Some good news for those who are searching for that special someone: 88% of those surveyed say they do not lie when describing themselves in their profile with 6% saying they only used a few white lies.
Such a flirt
Key findings from the love.com survey:
-- Far more men admit to Internet flirting than women (31% for men versus 15% for women).
-- More than one in ten single adults with Internet access (12%) say they flirt with others by instant messaging or e-mail during the day.
-- Sixteen percent of men say they flirt online during the day, compared with 8% of women.
-- Flirting via e-mail or instant messaging is also much higher among those 18-24 years (33%) than those who are older (19%).
-- About one in ten unmarried adults with Internet access (9%) customize their instant messages and/or e-mails with colorful wallpaper or icons so they are more flirty. Fourteen percent of 18-24 year olds do so, compared with 7% of older adults.
-- Nearly one in ten unmarried adults with Internet access (9%) have asked someone out by instant messaging them. Men are far more likely than women to have done this (14% vs. 4%).
-- Those who ask someone out via instant messaging spend an average of four weeks flirting online before asking to meet them offline for a date.
-- Thirteen percent of single adults who have Internet access have entered an online chat room for dating.
Other findings
Searching for love...
-- One in ten have conducted an online search for someone before they have gone out on a date. Twelve percent of men have done so versus 8% of women.
-- About one in four of those who have tried an online dating service (24%) say they instant messaged or e-mailed other people's profiles around to their friends to get their opinion of prospective dates; 8% say they always did this, while 16% say they sometimes did.
-- Most of those who have used an online dating service (82%) say it took them about an hour or less to write their online profile; 52% wrote it in about 20 minutes.
-- Men are far more likely than women to have visited dating chat rooms (18% vs. 7%).
...even in the wrong places...
-- Nearly half of those who have tried an online dating service (44%) have come across an online profile of someone they know, such as an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, when they were surfing through profiles.
-- One in three of those who have tried an online dating service work in an office where they are supervised by a manager. Of these, 10% say they have been caught by their boss or manager while surfing or responding to online profiles.
-- Most of those who have used an online dating service (66%) check their online dating account once a day for new messages; 10% check it once in the morning and once in the evening, while 9% check it three times a day and 2% admit to checking it "constantly."
...and finding it.
-- Five percent of unmarried adults with Internet access have fallen in love with someone they met online. Men are more likely to have experienced this than women (7% vs. 3%).
About America Online, Inc.
America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.
Methodology
These results are based upon telephone surveys conducted by Opinion Research Corporation among a national probability sample of 933 unmarried adults 18 and older living in private households in the continental United States who have Internet access. The survey was conducted November 14-24, 2003. The margin of error for the entire sample is plus or minus three percentage points; the margin of error is higher for subgroups, such as those who flirt online (plus or minus seven percentage points) and those who have used an online dating service (plus or minus ten percentage points).
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