Shifts in How Couples Meet, Online Takes the Top
We saw how people meet, but it was a snapshot of a population. It included people of all ages and generations in aggregate. What I really want to know is how couples meet now. How has it changed over the years? The chart below shows the shifting rankings, moving with each decade.
How Couples Meet, By Decade
Keep an eye on “met online.”
Like before, the data comes from the How Couples Meet and Stay Together survey, administered by Michael J. Rosenfeld, Reuben J. Thomas, and Sonia Hausen.
People seem to like this internet thing. Meeting online, which includes apps and dating services, spiked in 2000 and then took the top spot in the current decade. Meeting someone through family is much lower than it was in the 1960s. However, meeting through friends is still up there. This seems to make sense, if television sitcoms and period dramas have taught me anything.
Notes
- You can download the dataset from the SSDS Social Science Data Collection.
- I analyzed the data in R.
- I made the chart with D3.js.
- Thanks to Michelle Rial for the inspiration.
Become a member. Support an independent site. Make great charts.
See What You GetMy work on FlowingData is supported by paid memberships. Since 2007, I have been analyzing data and making charts to help people understand and appreciate data in their work and everyday lives. I hope to keep it going for many more years.
If you liked this (or want to learn how to make similar data things), please consider supporting this small corner of the internet with a membership. You get unlimited access to visualization courses, tutorials, and extra resources. Thanks. — Nathan
Chart Type Used
