More Americans Use Online Dating Websites
According to a national survey, 15% of all adult Americans have logged on to an online dating website. In 2013, only 11% admitted that they used dating apps. The survey was based on interviews with 2000 American adults.
The highest increase has come to young people between 18 and 24 years of age. Their share has nearly tripled, while the number of online dating app users in their mid-50s to mid-60s has doubled in the past two years. Much of the growth is attributed to mobile phone apps, like Tinder. Older users tend to use desktop computers and laptops to access dating websites.
Adults who have tried online dating websites usually have a positive opinion about them. Most of them think it is a good way of getting to know other people. More than half say that they would get to know people whom they otherwise wouldn't .
On the other hand there are negative aspects as well. Safety is a big issue when using such apps. Almost half of those questioned, especially women, say that online dating is more dangerous than other ways of meeting people. According to another report sexual assaults and rapes related to online dating has increased.
Many users also think that getting to know people online is very time-consuming because you spend hours preparing your profile and uploading appropriate images.
The survey has also found out that those who use online dating websites are wealthier and more educated than others, partly because they may have better access to laptops and smartphones.
In any case, attitudes towards online dating apps have changed over the years. In the past you were thought to be weird or desperate when using such websites, today it has become a widespread method of finding your ideal partner.
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Words
- access = here: get into, use
- according to = as said by ...
- admit = to agree, often against your own will, that something is true
- app = piece of software that runs on your computer or smartphone
- appropriate = the right
- aspect = side of a topic or problem
- assault = attack someone in a violent way
- attitude = the way you think and feel about something
- attribute = to be the result of something
- based on = here: to use something to get results or answers
- desperate = needing or wanting something very much
- double = twice as much
- especially = above all
- growth = when something gets bigger
- image = photo
- increase = to go up
- issue = problem
- log on = connect a computer to the internet by typing in your name and password
- method = way
- opinion = what you think about something
- partly = to some degree but not completely
- rape = to force someone to have sex with you
- safety = situation in which you are safe and not in danger
- share = part of the whole
- survey = a set of questions you ask a larger number of people in order to find out what they think about certain topics
- tend to = here: usually, more than normal
- time-consuming = it needs a lot of time
- triple = three times as much
- wealthy = rich
- weird = strange, unusual
- widespread = very common and used a lot