Because of the dearth of available partners, older women looking to date may have to relax their dating standards to find a dating partner, perhaps accepting a life situation that is not what they had hoped for. However older women may be reluctant to sacrifice an often recently-gained lifestyle free of caregiving obligations. Older men, on the other hand, have a large pool of potential dating partners and do not face the same dilemma. We compared Internet dating profiles for 100 older adults and 100 younger adults, and found that older adults (and especially older women) were more selective than younger adults when it came to the age, race, religion, income, and height of a prospective dating partner. However, older adults were willing to travel substantially farther than younger adults to meet the right partner. These findings paint a clear picture of older Internet daters as eager to meet the right person, but not desperate to meet just anyone.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AjzenI., & FishbeinM. (1977). Attitude-behavior relations: A theoretical analysis and review of empirical research. Psychological Bulletin, 84, 888–918.
2.
AlterovitzS. S., & MendelsohnG. A. (2009). Partner preferences across the lifespan: Online dating by older adults. Psychology and Aging, 24, 513–517.
3.
BaltesM. M. (1982). Environmental factors in dependency among nursing home residents: A social ecology analysis. In WillsT. A. (Ed.), Basic processes in helping relationships. New York: Academic Press.
4.
BulcroftK., & O'ConnerM. (1986). The importance of dating relationships on quality of life for older persons. Family Relations, 35, 397–401.
5.
BulcroftR. A., & BulcroftK. A. (1991). The nature and functions of dating in later life. Research on Aging, 13, 244–260.
6.
BussD. M., & SchmittD. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 100, 204–232.
7.
BuunkB. P.DijkstraP.FetchenhauerD., & KenrickD. T. (2002). Age and gender differences in mate selection criteria for various involvement levels. Personal Relationships, 9, 271–278.
8.
CalasantiT., & KiecoltK. J. (2007). Diversity among late-life couples. Generations, 31, 10–17.
9.
DeanG., & GurakD. T. (1978). Martial homogamy the second time around. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 40, 559–570.
10.
DicksonF. C.HughesP. C., & WalkerK. L. (2005). An exploratory investigation into dating among later-life women. Western Journal of Communication, 69, 67–82.
11.
GelissenJ. (2004). Assortative mating after divorce: A test of two competing hypotheses using marginal models. Social Science Research, 33, 361–384.
12.
GlennN. D., & WeaverC. N. (1978). A multivariate, multisurvey study of marital happiness. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 40, 269–280.
13.
Gwartney-GibbsP. A. (1986). The institutionalization of premarital cohabitation: Estimates from marriage license applications, 1970 and 1980. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 423–434.
14.
HensleyW. A. (1994). Height as a basis for interpersonal attraction. Adolescence, 29, 469–474.
15.
JaggerE. (2005). Is thirty the new sixty? Dating, age and gender in a postmodern, consumer society. Sociology, 39, 89–106.
16.
KalmijnM. (1998). Intermarriage and homogamy: Causes, patterns, trends. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 395–421.
17.
KenrickD. T.GrothG. E.TrostM. R., & SadallaE. K. (1993). Integrating evolutionary and social exchange perspectives on relationships: Effects of gender, self-appraisal, and involvement level on mate selection criteria. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 951–969.
18.
KrosnickJ. A., & AlwinD. F. (1989). Aging and susceptibility to attitude change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 416–425.
19.
LevesqueL. M., & CaronS. L. (2004). Dating preferences of women born between 1945 and 1960. Journal of Family Issues, 25, 833–846.
20.
LynnM., & BoligR. (1985). Personal advertisements: Sources of data about relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 2, 377–383.
21.
McElhaneyL. J. (1992). Dating and courtship in the later years: A neglected topic of research. Generations: Journal of the American Society on Aging, 16, 21–23.
22.
NieN. H. (2001). Sociability, interpersonal relations, and the Internet: Reconciling conflicting findings. American Behavioral Scientist, 45, 420–435.
23.
OppenheimerV. K. (1988). A theory of marriage timing. The American Journal of Sociology, 94, 563–591.
24.
SanchezL.ManningW., & SmockP. (1998). Sex-specialized or collaborative mate selection? Union transitions among cohabitors. Social Science Research, 27, 280–304.
25.
ShepperdJ. A., & StrathmanA. J. (1989). Attractiveness and height: The role of stature in dating preference, frequency of dating, and perceptions of attractiveness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 15, 617–627.
26.
SchoneSteinberg B., & WeinickR. M. (1998). Health-related behaviors and the benefits of marriage for elderly persons. The Gerontologist, 38, 618–627.
27.
TalbottM. M. (1998). Older widows' attitudes towards men and remarriage. Journal of Aging Studies, 12, 429–449.
28.
ThiesK. M., & TraversJ. F. (2006). Handbook of human development for health care professionals. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
29.
ToddJ.McKinneyJ. L.HarrisR., & ChaddertonR. (1992). Attitudes toward interracial dating: Effects of age, sex, and race. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 20, 202–208.
30.
TomaC. L.HancockJ. T., & EllisonN. B. (2008). Separating fact from fiction: An examination of deceptive self-presentation in online dating profiles. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 1023–1036.
31.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). Total fall enrollment in degree-granting institutions, by age: Selected years, 1990 through 2017 (Table 190). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d08/tables/dt08190.asp
32.
WhyteM. K. (1990). Dating, mating, and marriage. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
