Need a Husband? Open Your Laptop

‘Cause you know I’d walk a thousand miles if I could just see you tonight...

Vanessa Carlton crooned those lyrics back in 2000, prompting the question: How far would you go for love?

But as new research suggests, we need only turn to our computers.

A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that people are increasingly going online to find love. USA TODAY reports researchers found that more than a third of new marriages started online. The study, which surveyed more than 19,000 people who married between 2005 and 2012, also found that roughly 45 percent of the couples who met online found each other through dating websites. The rest met through social networking, chat rooms, and other online forums.

The practice of searching for romance online may sound counterintuitive, especially with increased media emphasis on the dangers of online interaction. Our generation is particularly susceptible to this brand of cynicism with programming, such as MTV’s Catfish, challenging the legitimacy of online love.

Still, numbers don’t lie. People are engaging in Internet dating—and quite successfully. According to USA TODAY , relationships that began online are slightly happier and less likely to split than those that started offline.

But why does romantic success differ across online and offline meeting venues?

As lead author John Cacioppo, a psychologist and director of the Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience at the University of Chicago, explains, dating sites may "attract people who are serious about getting married."

Um, OkCupid, anyone?