Love games & picky women

Olivia Petter

Online dating has saturated us with choice, enabling them to actively seek out those who correspond with even our most niche desires. However, when it comes to preferences in the game of love, it seems that what women want is far more specific than even a Mel Gibson noughties flick can determine.

According to an Australian study of more than 41,000 dating site users, women under 40 are more particular when seeking a partner online than men, who become pickier with age.

The study, published in Psychological Science, saw researchers at Australia's Queensland University of Technology look at users of all ages, from 18 to 80. They found notable differences between specifications made by men and women looking for love online, with women more likely to stipulate educational preferences when they are a certain age.

The study showed that women are more specific about what they’re looking for between the ages of 18 and 30, their peak fertility years. Between these ages, women were found to be looking for partners with either the same level of education as themselves or higher. Meanwhile, men were found to be less likely to be as particular until they’re over the age of 40, at which age they were shown to become pickier than women. — The Independent