How the internet has changed dating
Better algorithms, business models and data could have even more people finding partners
ON JULY 19th 1695 an intriguing advertisement appeared in the Collection for the Improvement of Husbandry and Trade, a London periodical. The husbandry involved was, potentially, that of “A gentleman about 30 Years of Age, that says He has a Very Good Estate”; the trade was an offer to “Willingly match himself to some Good Young Gentlewoman, that has a fortune of £3,000 or thereabouts.”
The personal ad went on to become a staple of the newspaper business, and remained so for centuries. Now, like so much of the rest of that business, announcements of matrimonial and other availability have moved to the internet. The lonely hearts of the world have done very well out of the shift. Personal ads never accounted for more than 1% of marriages in America. Today dating sites and apps account for about a sixth of the first meetings that lead to marriage there; roughly the same number result from online encounters in venues not devoted to such matters.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline "Putting the data into dating"
From the August 18th 2018 edition
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