Who is the average online dater?

Many of you might wonder who you are likely to encounter if you sign up to an online dating site in search of someone special.

Of course, the answer is just about every type of person is on the web looking for love these days, so no matter what your dream man or woman is like, you will have a good chance of meeting them online.

But it can still be interesting to learn about the typical online dater, with new findings from AYI.com showing this person is usually in their 40s. Indeed, the average male online dater is 44, while the female equivalent is 42, reports the Huffington Post.

A man on an online dating site is an average of 5ft 10in in height, while a woman will be 5ft 4in. Both genders tend to say they have average body types, when pressed for an answer over whether they are super slim or carrying a few extra pounds.

Other matches between men and women tend to be quite similar, with both sexes admitting to drinking "socially" and taking exercise an average of once or twice a week. Online daters are typically non-smokers and have an average diet, so they should be easy to accommodate.

The average woman on a dating site has previously been married, so it is no surprise to find she is also likely to have children. However, the most common type of man found on such sites will not have any offspring.

A wide range of occupations is found among online daters, although the most common response is 'other profession'. As such, it might be that many people are simply not willing to confess what they do online.

While those with specific requirements about who or what they are seeking might not be well catered for, it seems there is certainly plenty of choice for the majority of people on a dating site.