国外媒体:互联网成美国人觅偶重要途径（在线收听）

Being online boosts chances of being in love

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.

美国一项调查发现，随着互联网日益成为人们寻找爱情的重要场所，家里能够上网的人觅得伴侣的可能性更大。

斯坦福大学的研究人员称，网络对于同性伴侣的结合尤为重要。

此外，网络可能很快将取代朋友介绍，成为美国人觅偶的主要途径。

斯坦福大学社会学副教授迈克尔?罗森菲尔德说：“先前有关互联网社会影响的研究对上网时间的社会成本的阐述相当模糊，但我们的研究表明，网络在帮助美国人觅偶方面起到了重要作用。”

这项研究于本周一在亚特兰大召开的美国社会学协会的年会上提交。研究显示，在家中可上网的人群中，82%的人有配偶或爱人，而在家中不能上网的人群中这一比例为62%。

该研究使用的数据来源于2009年冬季对美国4002名成年人开展的一项调查。该调查显示，其中略超过3000名成年人有配偶或爱人。

纽约城市大学的罗森菲尔德和鲁本?托马斯称，网络正日益成为寻找另一半的重要社交平台，这是确定无疑的。

罗森菲尔德在一项声明中说：“在未来几年中，网络可能会取代朋友介绍，成为美国人觅得另一半的最具影响力的方式，这将是自20世纪40年代初以来其首次取代朋友介绍成为第一大觅偶途径。”

研究人员称，网络对小众或觅偶较难的群体寻找伴侣尤其重要，例如同性恋人群和中年异性恋人群。

罗森菲尔德说，在调查进行的两年间觅偶成功的人之中，有61%的同性伴侣和21%的异性伴侣是在网上认识的。