Talk about the dating game: MSN says today's dating game is getting more and more oriented around instant messaging, with a new survey showing over 35 percent of Americans who took part saying they used Web services like MSN Messenger to set up dates, and 50 percent saying it helped them get to know a possible partner early in their relationships.
The survey released July 7 also said that more than 40 percent of respondents around the world reported that they used instant messaging to set up dates, and almost 58 percent said they used it to learn about their prospective dates.
"It makes sense that the more ways people have to communicate, the more likely they are to find that special someone," said Community Building on the Web author Amy Jo Kim about the MSN survey. "IM is such a great way to keep in touch with friends that it makes perfect sense that heavy users would go out more often. One particularly interesting aspect of IM is that people can personalize their IM with things like emoticons, picture tiles and more. Because when you're flirting online, it's not always just what you say that matters."
MSN ran the survey in 13 worldwide markets in the U.S., Europe, South America, and Asia, questioning almost 50 thousand people about their IM uses.
Men and women turned up with slightly different ways of doing things in this regard, MSN said. About 38 percent of American men responding said they used IM programs to flirt with potential partners and 43 percent used them to set up dates, compared to 30 percent of American women who used IM for either. Men also used IM more to send photos than women did, not to mention men using IM more to talk about work, while women use IM more than men to keep in contact with family members.
IM users also seem to rate high in general social activity, the MSN survey suggested, with 61 percent of those Americans responding that they went out with friends at least once a week.
IM also remains the preferred instant communication method in the U.S., MSN said, with 59 percent of American men responding saying they used IM more than text messaging on a cell phone, while only 12 percent said they preferred to use such short messaging services.
"We've designed MSN Messenger not only to help our customers worldwide communicate, but also to enable them to share experiences and do things with their friends online – like play games or share photos," said MSN lead product manager Brooke Richardson. "'Dating' may have not been in the original product plan, but it's no surprise that IM is a great way to bond online with family and friends."
