互聯網成美國人覓偶重要途徑

People who have Internet access at home are more likely to be in a relationship, with the Web gaining in importance as a meeting place for those seeking love, according to US research.

Researchers from Stanford University said the Internet is especially important for bringing together same-sex couples.

The Internet may also soon replace friends as the main way in which Americans meet their partners.

"Although prior research on the social impacts of Internet use has been rather ambiguous about the social cost of time spent online, our research suggests that Internet access has an important role to play in helping Americans find mates," said Michael Rosenfeld, an associate professor of sociology.

The study, which was presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Atlanta on Monday, showed that 82 percent of people in the study who had Internet access at home also had a spouse or romantic partner, compared to 62 percent for those who did not have Internet access.

The study used data from a winter 2009 survey of 4,002 adults across the United States. Slightly more than 3,000 had a spouse or romantic partner.

Rosenfeld and Reuben Thomas, of the City University of New York, found the Internet is the one social arena that is unambiguously gaining importance as a place where couples meet.

"It is possible that in the next several years the Internet could eclipse friends as the most influential way Americans meet their romantic partners, displacing friends out of the top position for the first time since the early 1940s," Rosenfeld said in a statement.

The researchers said they found that the Internet was especially important for finding potential partners in groups where the supply is small or difficult to identify such as in the gay, lesbian, and middle-aged heterosexual communities.

Rosenfeld said that among the couples who met within two years of the survey, 61 percent of same-sex couples and 21 percent of heterosexual couples met online.

美國一項調查發現，隨着互聯網日益成爲人們尋找愛情的重要場所，家裏能夠上網的人覓得伴侶的可能性更大。

斯坦福大學的研究人員稱，網絡對於同性伴侶的結合尤爲重要。

此外，網絡可能很快將取代朋友介紹，成爲美國人覓偶的主要途徑。

斯坦福大學社會學副教授邁克爾•羅森菲爾德說：“先前有關互聯網社會影響的研究對上網時間的社會成本的闡述相當模糊，但我們的研究表明，網絡在幫助美國人覓偶方面起到了重要作用。”

這項研究於本週一在亞特蘭大召開的美國社會學協會的年會上提交。研究顯示，在家中可上網的人羣中，82%的人有配偶或愛人，而在家中不能上網的人羣中這一比例爲62%。

該研究使用的數據來源於2009年冬季對美國4002名成年人開展的一項調查。該調查顯示，其中略超過3000名成年人有配偶或愛人。

紐約城市大學的羅森菲爾德和魯本•托馬斯稱，網絡正日益成爲尋找另一半的重要社交平臺，這是確定無疑的。

羅森菲爾德在一項聲明中說：“在未來幾年中，網絡可能會取代朋友介紹，成爲美國人覓得另一半的最具影響力的方式，這將是自20世紀40年代初以來其首次取代朋友介紹成爲第一大覓偶途徑。”

研究人員稱，網絡對小衆或覓偶較難的羣體尋找伴侶尤其重要，例如同性戀人羣和中年異性戀人羣。

羅森菲爾德說，在調查進行的兩年間覓偶成功的人之中，有61%的同性伴侶和21%的異性伴侶是在網上認識的。

Vocabulary:

arena: an area of activity that concerns the public（活動場所）

eclipse: to make somebody/something seem dull or unimportant by comparison（使失色；使相形見絀；使喪失重要性）