Online dating nurtures healthier attitudes to non-traditional relationships according to new data…

We analysed data from our own portfolio against a new analysis of 2011 census data, published last week. The combined research identifies that more over 35s than ever before classify themselves as single.

Census data shows that in 2011, 35% of adults in England and Wales had never been married; a rise of a third compared to 2001. Moreover, data identified that 23 million adults (51% of the adult population) classified themselves as ‘not currently married’ in 2011, compared to 19 million in 2001. This clearly demonstrates changing attitudes to relationships, in which marriage is no longer a social norm.

JustSingles.com is built up of over 400 niche dating sites, and we investigated these findings in correlation with our own data from our network of over 50,000 UK members. We found:

•  – Only 30% of members set their status as divorced, compared to 70% who set their status as single.

•  – The number of over 40s signing up to sites on the JustSingles.com network increased by +154% since 2011.

•  – The number of members on sites in the JustSingles.com group increased by +2143% since 2011.

Of the research, Commercial Development Director at JustSingles.com, Richard Gale, said:

“This data doesn’t come as a surprise to us. Over the last decade, we’ve seen attitudes to relationships in the UK become increasingly progressive. There are now in excess of 14,000 niche online dating sites in the UK alone, and the growing popularity of these services has undoubtedly gone a long way in nurturing the acceptability of non-traditional relationships.

“The British population can now date in a judgement free environment. The rapidly growing number of sign-ups to more niche sites on the Just Singles network such as JustSingleParents.com, JustSeniorSingles.com, and JustTeacherSingles.com shows a more accepting attitude to being single and settling down later, if at all.”

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this, let us know below or find us on Facebook or Twitter!

Until next time, 

The Just Singles Team.