Social Health

It gets better when we make it better. At HIM, we have a pretty simple idea: gay men with high self-esteem tend to live healthier lives and have access to better health choices. We're interested in improving social health factors that impact gay men, including the big-picture stuff like homophobia and heterosexism. We also have listings for our Professional Volunteers who specialize in social health.

Love.com

Posted by HIM on Sunday November 21st, 2010

According to Stanford University researchers, the Internet will soon replace friends as a primary way for Americans to find love – with the gay and lesbian demographic leading the way. This has made me wonder as to how many of you actively participate in the world of internet dating and have actually found love? Personally, I don’t really believe that the Internet is a comparable love finder tool to being out and about in my social circle– for hook-ups yes, but using the Internet to find love?- not really. But then again I’ve never tried it so who am I to say it can’t work – so for those of you who have met your partners online, share your experience here and maybe I’ll change my mind ;)

For the original article on internet dating and love, go to the National Post at http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/Internet+replace+friends+primary+people+find+love/3404303/story.html or read below.

-Alby K.

Internet set to replace friends as primary meeting place for love

Belinda Goldsmith, Reuters · Monday, Aug. 16, 2010

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 U.S. research.

Researchers from Stanford University said the Internet is especially important for bringing together same-sex couples and may 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 82.2% of people in the study who had Internet access at home also had a spouse or romantic partner, compared to 62.8% 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% of same-sex couples and 21.5% of heterosexual couples met online.

“Couples who meet online are much more likely to be same-sex couples, and somewhat more likely to be from different religious backgrounds,” Rosenfeld said.