Nearly half of all American singles have tried online dating (estimate)

"Online dating has come of age. Once a seedy corner of the internet, digital romance is today nearly as commonplace as e-commerce. Of the 87 million singles in the US, nearly half of them, or 40 million, have tried online dating, according to the US Census. Some surveys estimate that one in five new relationships, and one in six new ­marriages, begins online. “This is one of those businesses where scale really ­matters,” says Ginsberg, noting that Match has facilitated 1.2 billion e-mails since 2005, and 110 million virtual winks [a way for members to “break the ice” before e-mailing] in the past six months. She also says there is no reason to expect growth to stall any time soon, as online dating becomes more mainstream and new singles of all ages come online. “With the divorce rate in this country being 50 per cent, we’re a ­reflection of that society,” she says."

Source:  FT.com, 29th July 2011