After the Jan. 11 release of the "Report of 2014 Chinese Marriage Status," the Women of China website spoke of a "far from optimistic" outlook for China's marriage situation.
Launched in Beijing, the eighth annual report from Chinese online dating company Baihe.com publishes the details from online surveys and face-to-face interviews with Chinese singles on topics such as relationship, dating and romance.
For the 2014 report, the Baihe.com researchers reviewed nearly 70,000 responses to a poll that it posted online throughout 34 Chinese provinces, municipal cities and autonomous regions. Over 200 Chinese singles participated in the "meatspace" interviews.
A particularly notable aspect of the findings released on Sunday was the Internet focus of Chinese singles when they are not engaged in vocational activities. Baihe.com reports that, during the working week, 63 percent of singles were more comfortable in their home environment after hours, either spending time online or with guests. This preference also applied to weekends and national holidays.
Overall, 31.7 percent of those singles interviewed decided to spend approximately 10 hours each day at home, rather than actively pursuing relationships through dating. In terms of a difference between the sexes, 32.3 percent of unattached women used their free time to shop online and view television series on the Web for free, while 66.6 percent of their male counterparts just surfed the Internet.
Furthermore, just under half of the singles who participated in the study said that love did not form the basis of happy marriage, as they were more concerned with factors like physical appearance and wealth. The influence of parents was also a factor, as just over a quarter of the singles spoke of past experiences in which the interference of a parent ended a relationship.
In light of the report's results, relationship experts are encouraging China's unmarried population to set aside the Internet and seek partners beyond the home environment.