Sex drives older folks to online matchmaker

An online matchmaking service has found its older members like sex too.

In a survey of about 60,000 members over the age of 54, jiayuan.com found that sexual desire was the No.1 reason why they wanted to find a partner, the website reported Wednesday.

More than 34 percent of respondents said that sexual desire brought them to the website, higher than any other reason, including love. About 30 percent of respondents said they joined the matchmaking service to find true love, according to Lu Yaoyao, a company representative.

Older Chinese people have a conservative attitude about sex and usually don't talk about it with their children or friends, Lu told the Global Times.

Sexual desire means more than just intercourse, said Zhang Jiarui, a psychological consultant. It also includes kissing and other acts of physical intimacy.

Another 19 percent of respondents said they joined the matchmaking service because they wanted a companion, according to a company report on the survey's results. The rest said they didn't have a specific reason for seeking a partner.

Overall, men did better than women at finding a partner through the website, though women from Shanghai had the highest rate of success among female respondents over the age of 63.

In terms of finding a match on the site, men from Shanghai's came in third nationwide in the same age group. Men outnumbered women on the website by almost 2:1 in the over 54 age group.

According to the report, male respondents preferred younger women to women their own age. About 33 percent of respondents wanted to date women in their 30s. About 22 percent chose to pursue women in their 40s. Only 8 percent were going after women in their 60s.

The survey did not publish results for men who preferred women in their 20s.

As for women, they preferred men who were romantic to those who were reliable or honest.