A new Harris Interactive study reveals
gay men are nearly three times more likely to have visited an online
dating service compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Just
over one-quarter (26%) of gay adult men answered that they had
visited a dating or match-up site in the last month, while only 9
percent of heterosexual men agreed.
The question asks, “Which of the
following have you done in the past month?” Twenty-six percent of
gay men answered they had “visited a dating or match-up website ( i.e. Chemistry.com, Match.com, or Gay.com). Less than 1 in 10
heterosexual men (9%) reported visiting a dating site. As a group,
gay & lesbian adults visit online dating services more frequently
(20%) than heterosexuals (6%) as well.
Harris Interactive conducted the study
online between March 11 and 19, 2008. More than 2,733 U.S. adults
(ages 18 and over) participated. Over 13% of the respondents self
identified as gay or lesbian.
The poll also found a similar trend
with other online activities. When asked about blogs, more than half
(51%) of the gay & lesbian respondents reported reading a blog,
compared to 36 percent of heterosexual adults. And when the
participants were asked about their feelings about blog advertising,
gay & lesbians reported positive feelings at more than twice the
rate of heterosexuals (19% vs. 8%).