This is an important question the article doesn't even seen to try to answer. It does seem to rule out the "older men" theory as a complete explanation:
> 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.
Sure that would explain it, if that were true. It's not in the article however, and I'm unaware of any study that supports it. Without data backing it up the suggestion that (on average) 1 in 5 men is simultaneously in a relationship with 4 women just an assumption, no different than the many people in this thread assuming those women must be with older men.
> 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.