The dating site eHarmony commissioned a survey from researchers at Imperial College Business School in London, the results of which were relayed on Friday, October 15, 2021 by the Version Femina site.
Technology intrudes into our personal lives as much as our professional lives. In the digital age, dating sites and applications abound on our screens, whether generalist or specialized (for various age groups, sexual orientations, religious communities or even cultural preferences). These quick and easy ways to start conversations with strangers are a hit the world over, and are sometimes even favored over real-life encounters, which can be intimidating. Of course, changes in society have repercussions on world statistics. According to investigation jointly conducted by the dating site eHarmony and researchers at Imperial College Business School in London, the majority of newborns will be from couples formed online, within two decades.
Based on more than 4,000 testimonies, put into perspective from the official birth rate of the UK Bureau of National Statistics, scientists have come to this unexpected result. The study shows that 32% of romantic relationships started between 2015 and 2019 on a dating app, while it was 19% between 2005 and 2014. The same report estimated that 2.8 million children would be the fruit of a connected love, since the beginning of the millennium. Thus, these scientists have determined that at least 40% of babies, by 2037, will be conceived after a digital love at first sight.
A change already underway
Imperial College Business School in London found that 35% of couples surveyed had started a family a year after meeting online. Will electronic babies be the next generation of Generation Z?