> Young women are also dating and marrying slightly older men, carrying on a tradition that stretches back more than a century. The average age at first marriage is around 30 for men, 28 for women, according to census figures.

If the average difference 8s only 2 years, that doesn't explain the whole gap, and its remarkable just how quickly people are to age difference must be the whole story.

So what is it? Are young women less willing to report to a stranger they are single? More likely to report they are in a relationship than just dating? Something else? It's a shame the article does no curiosity about this.

Yes. This isn't even new, this has been the case for decades. The effects aren't usually heavily pronounced (spouses are usually within 10 years of age of each other), but in almost every marriage on record where the two participants are not of the exact same age, the woman is younger than the man.

I think the Internet likely changed things or accelerated some trends, but I'm not a social scientist. But this shouldn't surprise anyone. There's the semi-confirmed belief that women mature faster than men (emotionally/socially) that has stood in to explain this for decades, who knows, it might even be true.

Yes, yes, and multiple women can "date" one man.