December 23rd, 2015
If you thought Valentine's Day was the most romantic day of the year, think again. Facebook reveals that more men pop the question on Christmas Eve than at any other time.
How does Facebook know so much about relationships? Well, Facebook has a cool function that allows users to report their "relationship status." When any of its 1.4 billion users moves in or out of a relationship, Facebook knows. Of the 156 million users in the U.S., 2.6 million changed their status to "engaged" last year.
The most most popular days for getting down on bended knee were Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day. So, as you can see, Valentine's Day actually came in fourth.
Interestingly, their median age was 24, and 30% of all "engaged" status updates took place during November and December.
Facebook provides a long pull-down menu of potential statuses. These include "single," "in a relationship," "engaged," "married," "in a civil union," "in an open relationship," "it's complicated," "separated," "divorced" and "widowed."
Why is Christmas Eve such a popular time to get engaged? The best answer seems to be romance and family.
Experts believe that many grooms-to-be get swept up in the romance of the festive season, which also allows for quality time with loved ones, family and friends. Most men still ask for the parents' blessing before popping the question, and the holidays make that communication much more convenient.
A winter engagement also gives the couple enough time to prepare a summer or fall wedding. In previous bridal surveys, men admitted that proposing during Christmas was more likely to "get a yes."
Facebook also noticed that once young men changed their status to "engaged," their frequency of posting increased dramatically. They made 20% more posts, sent 40% more messages and checked in 20% more often than those not engaged. Engaged women are similarly more "engaged" with Facebook.
The Facebook findings align with the stats tallied by Chillisauce.co.uk, which found that 33% of men quizzed said Christmas Eve was the best time to pop the question. Interestingly, 83% of women gave a thumbs-down to a holiday proposal. Instead, a large portion of women (29%) said they would prefer a proposal on Valentine's Day or on the anniversary of the day they met their future spouse (20%).
Credit: Bigstockphoto.com
How does Facebook know so much about relationships? Well, Facebook has a cool function that allows users to report their "relationship status." When any of its 1.4 billion users moves in or out of a relationship, Facebook knows. Of the 156 million users in the U.S., 2.6 million changed their status to "engaged" last year.
The most most popular days for getting down on bended knee were Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day. So, as you can see, Valentine's Day actually came in fourth.
Interestingly, their median age was 24, and 30% of all "engaged" status updates took place during November and December.
Facebook provides a long pull-down menu of potential statuses. These include "single," "in a relationship," "engaged," "married," "in a civil union," "in an open relationship," "it's complicated," "separated," "divorced" and "widowed."
Why is Christmas Eve such a popular time to get engaged? The best answer seems to be romance and family.
Experts believe that many grooms-to-be get swept up in the romance of the festive season, which also allows for quality time with loved ones, family and friends. Most men still ask for the parents' blessing before popping the question, and the holidays make that communication much more convenient.
A winter engagement also gives the couple enough time to prepare a summer or fall wedding. In previous bridal surveys, men admitted that proposing during Christmas was more likely to "get a yes."
Facebook also noticed that once young men changed their status to "engaged," their frequency of posting increased dramatically. They made 20% more posts, sent 40% more messages and checked in 20% more often than those not engaged. Engaged women are similarly more "engaged" with Facebook.
The Facebook findings align with the stats tallied by Chillisauce.co.uk, which found that 33% of men quizzed said Christmas Eve was the best time to pop the question. Interestingly, 83% of women gave a thumbs-down to a holiday proposal. Instead, a large portion of women (29%) said they would prefer a proposal on Valentine's Day or on the anniversary of the day they met their future spouse (20%).
Credit: Bigstockphoto.com
