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Will technology call time on the post-pub drunken fumble? New research suggests that 10pc of single Irish people are now using internet dating services as an alternative to chance encounters in the local. According to findings from the Irish community website Online.ie, there has been a big increase in the numbers of Irish people using online dating and it is now the third most popular way of meeting a partner. In Ireland, research suggests that by 2008 six out of 10 singles will be looking for love online.
Finding romance at the end of a modem cable is said to be closing fast on the traditional Irish ways of meeting that special someone, which are going to pub or club and introductions by family or friends.
“Trawling the club or pub scene is a big hassle and more difficult the older you get,” said Myriam Hooper, general manager of Online.ie. “Users find online dating less manic, more controllable and more comfortable than in the traditional Irish alcohol-fuelled environment.”
Hooper added: “We estimate that 10pc of single Irish people are using online dating services and this number is growing with the last census (1996-2002) showing that the singles population increased by 177,000.”
The findings appear to give the lie to the cliché of the web as a testosterone-only zone: the gender breakdown amongst Irish users is 44pc female and 66pc male. There is a relatively wide age gap, with internet daters typically falling between 20 and 45.
Gold diggers are also in luck, as online daters’ financial prospects seem to stand up: the research found that people who arrange dates via the web are typically ABC1, highly educated with high disposable income.
Hooper claimed that Online.ie’s sister site Irishabroad.com has resulted in a number of marriages. Online.ie recently announced a partnership with AnotherFriend.com to provide its users with access to online dating. Proving that free love went out with the Sixties, there may be no charge for access but there is a nominal fee for each contact set up.
By Gordon Smith
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