OK Cupid is a successful dating site that was set up by a group of Harvard maths geeks. Given that its users fill out a questionnaire about themselves to join, and then take parts in lots of user-generated questionnaires and games, the site is a very rich datasource on relationships. Now and again OK Cupid's founders plunder this information to produce some truly eye-opening graphs.
The one above purports to show a relationship - quite a strong one - between an interest in casual sex and per capita wealth of the country, which is quite surprising because you might have thought that religion or culture played the defining role here.
Of course, the sample is not a scientific one, in that OK Cupid users are not necessarily representative of the population as a whole. But still, it's interesting. Why are people more likely to seek out one-night stands in wealthier countries? Perhaps, as people become better-off, acquire more money to spend on consumer goods and become acquainted with high street shops and supermarkets, they're more likely to extend the psychology and behaviours of shopping to other areas of their life, including romance. It's a connection that's been made before, of course.
I think it is more to do with women's earning power. Independent women do not need to keep themselves pure until they have found a husband and provider. Seems to me that casual sex doesn't make them any happier, though.
Posted by: NicoleS | April 21, 2011 at 10:05 AM
That's a better hypothesis.
Posted by: Marbury | April 21, 2011 at 10:11 AM
Thought the link was going to direct me to Ravenhill.
Posted by: RobH | April 21, 2011 at 02:43 PM