Berkeley Study Finds Racial Disparity in Online Dating Contacts

A new study by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley finds wide disparities in interracial interactions at online dating sites. The Berkeley study found that more than 80 percent of online dating contact initiated by whites went to other whites. Only 3 percent went to blacks. This preference for white dates was prevalent for white men and white women and did not fluctuate by age.

In contrast, while the majority of contacts initiated by blacks went to other blacks, African Americans were 10 times as likely as whites to initiate contact with people of other races.

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