Duo Survey Finds Dating, Marriage Reality Shows Make Viewers More Cautious About Marriage

Duo, a matchmaking company, surveyed single men and women who are currently dating on how reality shows about dating and marriage affect attitudes and values about marriage.

In the survey on the impact of dating and marriage reality shows on marriage, 57% of respondents said the programs made them think more cautiously about marriage. Another 24% said they had become more negative about marriage, while 16% said the shows had no particular effect. Four percent said they had become more positive about marriage.

Duo also surveyed people who had watched dating and marriage reality shows to see whether their values had changed. As a result, 46% of viewers said they had experienced a change in how they think about dating and marriage after watching.

Among respondents who said they had experienced change, 43% said their views had changed somewhat, while 4% said they had changed significantly.

The shows were found to go beyond viewing and become a real topic of conversation between couples. Seventy-nine percent of respondents said they had watched a program with their partner or had discussed it together.

The most common couple discussion topic was how to resolve conflict during arguments or disagreements, at 41%. This was followed by views on money and financial management at 22%, family relationships such as in-laws at 10%, relationships with the opposite sex such as friends of the opposite sex or infidelity at 10%, division of housework and childcare at 7%, and plans for children at 6%.

Some items also showed differences in response rates between men and women. The share who said they discussed conflict resolution was 46% among women and 35% among men, while the share who said they discussed money and financial management was 26% among men and 19% among women.

In addition, 49% of all respondents said dating and marriage reality shows help them understand their partner's values. By gender, 56% of women and 42% of men said the programs were helpful in understanding values.

The dating and marriage reality show that drew the most interest from respondents was 'I Am SOLO,' at 51%. It was followed by 'Divorce Camp' at 50%, 'Transit Love' at 32%, 'Oh Eun-young Report - Marriage Hell' at 25%, 'Single's Inferno' at 24%, and 'Heart Signal' at 23%.

A Duo official said watching dating and marriage reality shows can provide an indirect experience of various relationships and married life, and may lead people to reassess their own views on dating and marriage. The official added that sharing thoughts with a partner can also help couples envision their future relationship more concretely.

The survey was conducted by Macromill Embrain from Oct. 7 to 12, 2026, among 1,000 single men and women aged 25 to 39 nationwide who are currently dating. The confidence level was 95%, and the margin of error was plus or minus 3.10 percentage points.

Source: TECHWORLD · Kim Kyung-joo
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=408191

References

• https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=408191