# Do you find this eHarmony claim outrageous?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-this-eharmony-claim-outrageous/467463
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [October 11, 2008, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-this-eharmony-claim-outrageous/467463 "2008-10-11T13:45:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-this-eharmony-claim-outrageous/467463/21 "2009-01-04T16:16:32Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#):
>
> By the way, 200 marriages a day is 1400 marriages a week, 6000 marriages a month, and 73,000 marriages a year. :eek:
> [@Aspidistra](#):
>
> Quick BOTE calculation…
>
> Say the 20 million users are half US half outside the US. That would mean about 7% of eHarmony users had gotten married through it. Pretty good stat but not _outrageously_ unbelieveable.
If there are 73K marriages per year (146K members participating) out of 20M, less than 7% of members are marrying…it’s .7%, right? Mental check, 7% would be 1 in 14, so that would mean 1.46M or so, not 146K.
---
### Author:  [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-this-eharmony-claim-outrageous/467463/22 "2009-01-04T16:22:07Z")
> [@brazil84](#):
>
> According to [this site](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/divorce.htm), there were about 2.2 million marriages in 2005 in the United States.
>
> So, assuming the 200+ per day figure is for the United States, it would seem that e-harmony is claiming credit for about 3% of American marriages.
>
> Which sounds high to me, but not outrageously high if one assume that a large percentage of couples meet on the internet and that e-harmony is the leading provider of internet dating services.
Well there you go. 2.2 million marriages for a little over 300 million Americans, means a little over 150 thousand marriages for 20 million eHarmony members, or about 400 per day. Divide by two because there are two members for one marriage\* and you get 200. Simple!
- Look, just don’t even think about it.
---
### Author:  [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-this-eharmony-claim-outrageous/467463/23 "2009-01-04T16:31:32Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#):
>
> Well there you go. 2.2 million marriages for a little over 300 million Americans, means a little over 150 thousand marriages for 20 million eHarmony members, or about 400 per day. Divide by two because there are two members for one marriage\* and you get 200. Simple!
>
> - Look, just don’t even think about it.
The control group…the experimental group…at first blush I liked it.
Except the 300M figure for Americans includes newborns, already marrieds, and elderlies who aren’t wookin’ pa nub, whereas e-Harmony is (allegedly) 100% date-able and so motivated. Of the 300M, say 150M are date-able. The figure for marriages in the gen pop would be double to 800 per day…meaning e-Harmony is worse.
But then if e-Harmony isn’t 100% USA, it’s still more complicated. What is the marriage rate in other countries where they operate?
---
### Author:  [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-this-eharmony-claim-outrageous/467463/24 "2009-01-04T18:15:50Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#):
>
> There was a thread some time ago about e-Harmony. Note the use of the term “blessed” in the OP. The founder has a degree in theology or something. e-Harmony is biased for people who are strong churchgoing types with very conservative, traditional attitudes about marriage, family, and so on. So if you fit their criteria, there’s a good chance you’ll meet others with like attitudes.
>
> If you’re like my niece, however—has a doctorate, atheist, opinionated, self-sufficient, liberal—they won’t even take you on as a client.
I had very few matches and all of them were Nurses by profession. Don’t know if that is because I share certain beliefs with nurses- or if their software somehow biased me in that direction.
---
### Author:  [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-this-eharmony-claim-outrageous/467463/25 "2009-01-04T22:05:42Z")
Well let’s look at this
> [@](#):
>
> Research conducted by Harris Interactive finds that, on average, 236 eHarmony members marry every day in the United States as a result of being matched on eHarmony
It sys they marry as a result of being matched. What do you assume? That these people were matched with each other.
BUT…
Let’s say we have Sarah, I want to marry but I don’t want to marry Herman. OK I’ll try eHarmony. Result -\> Sarah says "Oh God what a horrible experience I had with those losers on eHarmony. I’m gonna marry Herman.
Sarah got married as a result of being matched on eHarmony but not how we think.
Let’s try another senerio. Sarah and Jack work together. Sarah and Jack sign up for eHarmony. Sarah get’s matched with Tom, Dick and Harry, all bad. Jack gets matched with Tammy, Roberta and Jackie all disaster. They give up and Sarah marries Jack. They are married as a RESULT of eHarmony. Not in the way we think.
Senerio number 3. Jerry is a scum. He picks ugly old women and marries them for his money. Hey eHarmony is the way to go. He marries 10 times for the money. Not exactly what we expect
Senerio number 4. Marriages may be legit but people do marry more than once. I know one lady who married three times all off the Internet. That’s 4 people but three marriages not the expected 6 people.
So I’m sure the stats are accurate but WHAT exactly counts is the question.
---
### Author:  [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-this-eharmony-claim-outrageous/467463/26 "2009-01-05T00:49:19Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#):
>
> Either way, even if it _is_ just 118 marriages, that’s still a hell of a lot, and I’m :dubious:.
Heck, considering that most people marry on the weekend (mainly Saturday but I’ll just call it Fri-Sun), you’re looking at over 800 weddings per weekend made up of eHarmony couples.
That’s obviously a very rough figure since a percentage of those will opt for Justice of the Peace weekday affairs or whatever.
---
### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-this-eharmony-claim-outrageous/467463/27 "2009-01-05T00:56:51Z")
> [@devilsknew](#):
>
> I had very few matches and all of them were Nurses by profession. Don’t know if that is because I share certain beliefs with nurses- or if their software somehow biased me in that direction.
They have extensive data sharing with user profiles on porn sites as well. That is probably where it came from.
---
### Author:  [@DubsyUin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DubsyUin)
#### Post date: [January 5, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-this-eharmony-claim-outrageous/467463/28 "2009-01-05T01:02:11Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#):
>
> At least 236 is an even number.
You got me with this one. Bastard. 😃
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-this-eharmony-claim-outrageous/467463.md?page=1)