Facts on Dating Sites
The online dating industry has become a $1.8 billion business, and more people today are finding love through dating websites. Busy professionals are turning toward dating sites, since it provides a convenient, discreet and less costly way to meet compatible singles. Hitwise estimates there are more than 800 dating sites in the U.S., and more are popping up in the Internet. Therefore, knowing the facts about certain sites will help you narrow down which online dating site will give you the results you want.
Other People Are Reading
-
Match.com
-
Launched in 1995, Match.com is the leader in the online dating website community. It boasts more than 26 million singles, and is hosted in 24 countries in eight languages. It also offers mobile services through ATT/Cingular, Nextel and Sprint. Apps are also available for iPod, iTouch and Palm Pre. Singles create profiles that include photos, interests, personal information and preferred matching criteria. It is free to browse profiles, but members must pay monthly to send emails, chat or winks. Match also matches consumers with others who may be compatible or share similar interests. You can search by location, keywords and demographic information.
Male members make up 56 percent of users, while 44 percent are female. Seventy-nine percent of users have some college or a college degree. The 50-plus age group is the fastest-growing population using the online dating site. They are ranked highest in customer satisfaction.
Chemistry.com
-
Chemistry, a branch of Match.com, was launched in 1999. It has 13 million users. It was created by Dr. Helen Fisher, an anthropologist and expert on human attraction. Members are required to take a personality test, and the results categorize singles into minor and major personality types.
Fisher believes compatibility and similar interests are necessary for a good relationship. Chemistry matches singles based on the personality types and a number of shared interests. Browsing profiles is not an option. Members are sent five prospective singles daily to review, and decide if they would want to follow up with a wink, email or icebreaking game. If nothing else, the personality testing can offer insight into your own personality and a potential date's personality.
-
eHarmony
-
EHarmony claims to be responsible for 2% of new marriages in the United States. Created by Dr. Neil Clark Warren, author and clinical psychologist, eHarmony is similar to Chemistry, since it relies on personality testing to match individuals with similar interests. The testing covers 29 dimensions, including values, beliefs, interests and ideals. It offers online chatting and messaging. Since matches are based on testing the pool of singles to choose from, is smaller than other sites. The upside is that you are matched to those who are most similar to you. It guarantees that if a member has not met a match in six months, it will offer another six months free of charge. In 2009, eHarmony won three awards for excellence in customer service.
Single Parent Meet.com
-
Dating and single parenting is hard, and just finding the time to go on a date is a challenge. Single Parent Meet was created on the premise that 92% of single parents would like to meet other single parents who can understand the demands and rewards of being a single parent. The site has more than 900,000 singles. The site is easy to navigate with basic search tools and offers users the option to browse singles by location, demographics, keywords and activity level. It offers a variety of winks and nudges, and users can email or chat through the site. There are no quizzes or testing, but you can answer a number of questions about interests.
-
References
- Network World: The Hottest Trends in Online Dating; Carolyn Duufy Marsan, 2008
- Dating Site Reviews
- Random Facts: 76 Interesting Facts about Dating and Relationships
- Top 10 Best Dating Sites: The Top 10 Online Dating Websites of 2011
- eHarmony Blog: Behind the number of e-Harmony Marriages; Dr. Gonzaga, 2009
Resources
- Photo Credit Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
