Men and women alike tend to prefer a younger partner when they are on a blind date, says a study that raises some questions about why in marriages, men tend to be older.
Both men and women found younger people slightly more attractive on average than older ones, the study says, after 6,262 people shared their feelings after going on dates arranged by an agency.
The people, with an average age of 46, were using a dating service to find a long-term relationship.
Generally, men tend to marry younger women, and men are usually four years older than their wives when they marry for the first time, a previous study by the United Nations survey says.
It is possible that women are initially attracted to young men, but these pairings of older women and younger men are more likely to wither away … as the disadvantages of the men’s youth come to the fore
Many assume that this reflects the preferences of both partners. But the new study, whose participants ranged from 22 to 85 years of age, suggests otherwise.
