According to a new study by Chemistry.com, about two in three single adults(1) (63%) say a long-term committed relationship is important for a happy and fulfilling life, a larger portion than those who value marriage (55%). The study was conducted by Harris Interactive® in an effort to better understand how U.S. adults are defining relationships today.
The survey went on to reveal that a large majority of all adults, 85 percent, agrees that a person can be happy without getting married. Many single adults say that they currently prefer to remain single and dating (44%) or in a committed relationship but not married (38%). In fact, as many as nearly two in five (39%) singles are unsure if they ever want to get married. When asked why marriage was important, 72 percent of married adults and 63 percent of single adults said it's the desire to have a partnership with someone.
"Marriage has changed more in the last 50 years than in the past 5,000. The fact is, we no longer live in a 'traditional marriage' culture," said Dr. Helen Fisher, renowned biological anthropologist and Chief Scientific Advisor at Chemistry.com. "Today, for example, most men and women experiment with sex and love long before they wed. Many live together before they tie the knot. Some have children first, and then marry. And many have two or three spouses across their lives. It's time to embrace what we see around us -- men and women following their own paths in their primordial drive to love."
"We want to give our customers the best opportunity to find the relationship that's right for them. The results from this survey show that, to some, it's marriage, but to many more, it's a long-term, committed relationship or partnership," said Thomas Enraght-Moony, Chief Executive Officer of Match.com, parent company of Chemistry.com. "At Chemistry.com, we think everyone deserves a happy and fulfilling relationship, however they define it."
Other findings from the survey further demonstrate how the perception of marriage and a committed relationship has evolved over time. Highlights include:
-- 50% of U.S. adults think they have a different opinion of marriage than
their parents.
-- 58% of U.S. adults think couples who live together in a committed
relationship but don't marry don't need to as long as they are happy.
-- 78% of U.S. adults say the divorce rate in the U.S. is increasing
because people get married for the wrong reasons.
-- 76% of single adults disagree that getting married is a top priority
for them right now.
"One of the greatest aspects about Chemistry.com is its openness to everyone searching for meaningful partnerships," added Greg Behrendt, author of He's Just Not That Into You and an expert whose opinions appear on Chemistry.com's blog site, The Great Mate Debate. "It's in agreement with my personal belief that if you are here among us living on the big round rock, you deserve love no matter your gender, color, shape, size, sexual orientation or relationship goal. Chemistry.com allows you to define your own relationship."
Survey Methodology
Harris Interactive® conducted the online survey on behalf of Chemistry.com between March 30 and April 3, 2007 among 2,549 U.S. adults age 18 and older. Figures for region, age within gender, education, household income, and ethnicity were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
With a pure probability sample of 2,549, one could say with a 95% probability that the overall results would have a sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points. Sampling error for data based on sub-samples may be higher and would vary. However, that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About Chemistry.com
Chemistry.com is a private community with more than 2 million interesting, confident, diverse singles that offers a fundamentally different approach to meeting someone. It combines all the benefits of online matching with the power of face-to-face meetings, where the true test of chemistry occurs. Based on science from biological anthropologist, Dr. Helen Fisher, and insight gained from one of the most extensive consumer research studies of single adults, Chemistry.com's personality profile and 1-2-3 Meetâ„¢, a guided introduction process, matches you with the singles you most want to meet. At Chemistry.com we're committed to finding the relationship that's right for you, whether that's marriage, a civil union or a long-term commitment. Chemistry.com is an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI).
About Match.com
Match.com pioneered online personals when it launched on the Web in 1995 and continues to lead this exciting and evolving category after more than a decade. Throughout its 12-year history, Match.com has redefined the way people meet and fall in love and is credited with more marriages than any other site. Today, more than 15 million people around the world participate in the Match.com community, providing a rich tapestry of ethnicities, interests, goals, ambitions, quirks, looks and personalities from which to choose. Match.com operates leading subscription-based online dating sites in 35 countries, in 15 languages and spanning six continents. Match.com also powers online dating on MSN across Europe, Asia, the United States and Latin America and is the premier provider of personals for Love@AOL. Match.com is an operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI).
(1) Throughout this release, the term "single adults" refers to U.S. adults ages 18+ who are single and have never been married.
First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: Tina.Couch@match.com
SOURCE: Chemistry.com
CONTACT: Tina Couch of Chemistry.com, +1-214-576-3265,
tina.couch@match.com