2037 will be the year of the ‘e-babies,’ according to research

The ‘e-baby’ generation is coming! 2037 will be the year when MORE children will be born to parents who met online rather than in real life

  • eharmony found by 2037, more babies will be born to parents who met online
  • Within the next decade 40 per cent of babies born will be so-called ‘ebabies’ 
  • Found ‘Tipping Point’ – year more people meet on rather than off-line – as 2035 
  • Report finds one in 14 couples meet in pub, compared to one in five in the 70s
  • Under half Brits say Internet makes easier for introverted people to meet partner

More couples will be first meeting online than in real life in the year 2035, and by 2037, more babies will be born to parents who met online – so-called ‘ebabies’ – than offline, according to new research. 

Over 4,000 adults were quizzed about their love lives in the study for dating website eharmony.

Researchers found that a third – 32 per cent – of singletons already meet their match through dating apps.

Over the past four years, the next most common couplings took place at work (23 per cent), through a mutual friend (12 per cent) or via social media (seven per cent).

In the seventies and early eighties, one in five couples – 22 per cent – met in the pub but now just one in 14 – seven per cent – do.

MBA students from London’s Imperial College Business School also found that 2.6 million ebabies have already been born since 2000.

Pictured: Alison and Dean, who met on eHarmony with their daughter Alison as most children will be born to parents who met online by 2037

Pictured (left-right): The children of parents who met online -  Luke, Jack, Sophie, Maximus, Sam, Ava, Arun, Annie & Olivia

Pictured (left-right): The children of parents who met online –  Luke, Jack, Sophie, Maximus, Sam, Ava, Arun, Annie & Olivia 

Over a third – 35 per cent – of online couples who had a baby did so within a year of meeting.

Among those to have had an ‘e-baby’ are Dean and Alison. The couple, who met on eHarmony in 2012, are now married and have a three-year-old daughter, Annie, who they say ‘fills our heart and completes our little family’.

They said: ‘Annie was born almost to the day of our first wedding anniversary and every day since has been full of chaos, love, laughter and a few tears here and there.’

Jo and Myles also met online. They started exchanging messages five years ago and, after just two months, had moved in together. 

The eharmony report found that over the past four years, the next most common couplings took place at work (23 per cent), through a mutual friend (12 per cent) or via social media (seven per cent)

The eharmony report found that over the past four years, the next most common couplings took place at work (23 per cent), through a mutual friend (12 per cent) or via social media (seven per cent)

The couple married in 2016 and their son Maximus was born in July. They said: ‘He’s growing fast and is the perfect baby. We couldn’t ask for more.’

London’s Imperial College Business School also studied demographic and population growth projections to determine the impact of technology on how we will find love in the future.

In their ‘The Future of Dating’ report for eharmony, they identified 2035 as the ‘tipping point’ year where more lovebirds will meet online than offline for the first time.

They concluded that four in ten babies born by 2030 will be ebabies with the figure rising to over half in 2037.

And men are more likely than women to have children with a partner they meet online – by 42 per cent to 33 per cent.

Nearly half of Brits say the Internet makes it easier to meet their match than relying on traditional, offline means of dating.

'It's very positive to see that online dating is set to continue opening doors for singles into the future,' said Romain Bertrand of eharmony. Pictured, stock image

‘It’s very positive to see that online dating is set to continue opening doors for singles into the future,’ said Romain Bertrand of eharmony. Pictured, stock image

Dr Paolo Taticchi, principal teaching fellow at Imperial College Business School said: ‘The digital world has streamlined the online dating process, making it easier to find someone while ensuring that they match your criteria.

‘2035 will be an instrumental year for finding love and begin a new era of twenty-first century dating.’

Romain Bertrand of eharmony said: ‘It’s very positive to see that online dating is set to continue opening doors for singles into the future.

‘Our long-term partnership with Imperial College Business School continues to give us valuable insight into how the world of dating and relationships might look in decades to come and how society will continue to evolve over time.’  

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