Page 10 - You Magazine – Issue 1

New age
courting
The rules of later life dating are being re-written as more seniors get serious about creating meaningful relationships in their 60s and beyond.
Victorian 77-year-old ‘Casey’ has yet to give up hope while septuagenarian ‘Smilesandeyes’ from Sydney and 73-year-old ‘Nightowl’, both from Sydney, are adamant it’s just a click away.
The trio, each of whom have profiles listed on senior dating site SeniorFriendFinder, are living proof that while some Australians aged over 65 may be weary of the conventional methods of dating, the desire to lead a happy, healthy and fulfilling life with someone they care about is something that never diminishes.
And, in that at least, they’re far from alone.
Dr Sue Malta, a Research Fellow at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health and a specialist in ageing
issues, investigated the dating and relationship practices of older Australian heterosexual adults aged between 60 and
92 for her thesis, Love, sex and intimacy in new late-life romantic relationships.
Dr Malta’s research showed that while online dating was once considered the exclusive bastion of the young, seniors increasingly
10 MAY 2020 You
viewed the internet as a viable venue for finding romantic relationships later in life.
Her findings showed there was a variety of reasons why seniors made the decision to
try to meet potential suitors through online dating. However, it was principally fuelled by what many seniors saw as a dearth of available opportunities to meet like-minded others.
Dr Malta’s research was backed up by a report released last year by over-50s insurance group Australian Seniors, which found that although traditional routes to finding love were still popular, increasing numbers of seniors were open to a digital dating approach.
The Australian Seniors Series: Modern Dating report revealed that three in five of those surveyed used online dating sites such as eHarmony and RSVP and nearly
10 per cent had used mobile dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble
and Happn.
In South Australia, almost six
in 10 (56.2 per cent) respondents admitted using dating apps two to three times a week and in NSW the number was four in 10.
But research shows not every senior believes online dating is the way forward.
University of Melbourne
lecturer Dr Bianca Fileborn has been involved in two national Australian research projects on sexuality and ageing. The first of these spoke to older women about their experiences of sexuality as they aged.
The second study, Sex, Age & Me, was the first national project to examine older Australians’ sexual health and wellbeing.
Dr Fileborn says while there
is sufficient evidence to show older Australians are readily embracing online dating, there were many who had shunned the experience in favour of more traditional methods for meeting a new partner.
While some seniors preferred meeting a prospective date through sporting groups or special interest clubs, others had trialled online dating only to abandon it when confronted with a negative experience, she says.
“For example, some of the women we interviewed said that all of the men their own age would post photos of themselves when