A newly published American study by Cacioppo and colleagues (2013) looked at the satisfaction in couples who met on-line. They analysed responses from nearly 20,000 people who married between 2005 and 2012. They found that more than one-third of marriages in America now begin on-line!

In comparison with more traditional off-line meeting, the on-line couples expressed greater marital satisfaction and were slightly less likely to separate or divorce. Their only conclusion is that on-line dating may be changing the institution of marriage.

Such research does suggest that previous research about the formation, maintenance and breakdown of relationships may need updating to include couples who meet on-line and the different factors involved in relationship processes in that medium.