Love Isn’t Just for the Young: Examining the Online Dating Experiences of Older Adults

• In Event: Love, Same-Sex Marriage, Story-Telling, and Sleeping Across the Lifespan

Abstract

Recent data suggest that one of the fastest growing demographics in the online dating realm is people age 50 and older. Not only has this group gained a significant presence on sites like eHarmony and Match.com, but many in the online dating industry have begun devoting increasing amounts of attention to this population through niche services for older singles. Despite this shift, few scholars have given attention to the online dating experiences of older adults. This study is a textual analysis of an online discussion forum for older adult users of the popular dating website Plenty of Fish. The analysis suggests that online dating can serve at least three basic functions for older adults: (1) as a solution for a lack of offline dating opportunities, (2) as a virtual community for a wide range of peer interactions, and (3) as a learning environment when re-entering the dating scene.

Author

• Derek Blackwell, Prairie View A and M University