NET IMPERATIVE -- Aug 3 -- One in three Internet users say they would now use the Web to meet a potential date. Nielsen//Netratings questioned 3,400 people (58% men/42% women) and found that the Internet is now the joint third most popular method for getting a date. Finding a date at work was an equally popular method, while pubs/clubs and through friends were the most favoured methods overall, with 53% each. Online dating was also comfortably ahead of more traditional dating agencies, classified ads and speed dating events in terms of popularity. Alex Burmaster, European Internet analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings said: "Internet dating and personals websites are already attracting over three and a half million people per month in the UK, and our research shows it's growing at an enormous rate - both DatingDirect.com and Match.com have almost doubled their audience in 12 months." 33% admitted to lying to some degree on their profile, with women more likely to do this than men.
Mark Brooks: Pretty much what you'd expect. Online dating will always take a comfortable back seat to (the preference for) real world introductions. In reality, as the science of personality profiling comes of age, it may well eventually overtake bars and clubs for the sheer volume of introductions. The future of online dating rests on the laurels of those pioneering the next generations of personality profiling and communications methods (i.e. webcam based dating).
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