How couples who meet on social networking sites and later marry compare to couples who met through other types of online meetings or the "old-fashioned" way in terms of age, race, frequency of Internet use, and other factors is explored in an article in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website.

In "First Comes Social Networking, Then Comes Marriage? Characteristics of Americans Married 2005-2012 Who Met Through Social Networking Sites," Jeffrey Hall, PhD, University of Kansas, Lawrence, describes the characteristics that are more common among recently married individuals who met online via social networking sites (SNS).

"Facebook use grew dramatically during the 2005-2012 time period studied," says Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCB, BCN, Editor-in-Chief of Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, from the Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, CA. "It will be useful to continue to observe how these trends change as various groups of individuals become more frequent users of SNS," says Dr. Wiederhold.