The Science of Dating: why we should stop dating online

In a weekly blog, Sarah Knapton, the Telegraph's Science Correspondent, delves in to the science of attraction, sexuality, relationships and dating. This week, online dating.

By Sarah Knapton, The Telegraph
07 Oct 2014

Dating in the 21st century is pretty bleak. It’s so bleak that we are increasingly throwing ourselves at the mercy of computers, outsourcing our love lives to algorithms and spreadsheets.

Marketing and the film industry tells us that ‘Planet Single’ is a barren, isolated wasteland where it rains the silent tears of the broken-hearted. Escape from this planet is mandatory.

But for most single people I know life is pretty good. Being on the shelf is only a problem if your shelf is dull. In fact, the older you get, the more interesting your shelf is likely to become and the harder it is to be coaxed off.

And we are extending our own shelf-life everyday by staying fitter, healthier and more attractive for longer. Women are no longer crying into their Chardonnay. Singles are more likely to be playing capoeira; dining at secret supper clubs; running with the Good Gym or digging up their home-grown kale.

(More here.)