USA TODAY – Feb 4 – According to a new survey conducted by market research firm MarketTools for Match.com, men are more interested in love, marriage and children than their peers in earlier times; women want more independence in their relationships than their mothers did; and hooking up and one-night stands aren't necessarily meaningless sexual encounters. "Men are now expressing some traditionally female attitudes, while women are adopting some of those long attributed to men," says biological anthropologist Helen Fisher. Data show men are quicker to fall in love and more likely than women to want children: 54% of men say they have experienced love at first sight, compared with 44% of women; among singles without children under 18, more men (24%) than women (15%) say they want children. 77% of women say having their personal space is "very important," vs. 58% for men; 78% of women say the same about having their own interests and hobbies (vs. 64% for men). And 35% of women (vs. 23% of men) say regular nights out with the guys/girls are important. FULL ARTICLE @ USA TODAY. Also read in TIME or watch on ABC NEWS.
Category: Reporters – Sharon Jayson
What’s The Attraction?
USA TODAY — Feb 11 – Within the past few years, researchers have begun to focus on the nature of physical attraction. Personality, evolution and even economic compatibility can all be factors in why people are drawn together. Research suggests that some physical characteristics — a symmetrical face, for example — are considered more universally attractive. Other studies have found romantic attraction among those who have similar family, religious and economic backgrounds. Attraction is even more complicated for those who date online. SpeedDate.com allows people to "meet" for three-minute interactions through live audio-video and IM. FULL ARTICLE @ USA TODAY
More Singles Finding Love After Age 45
USA TODAY — June 27 — A USA Today analysis of Census records of Americans ages 45-55 shows that the percentage of those who said they had never been married in 2006 had doubled since 1990, and the percentage of those who were currently married had dropped by 9%. According to the most recent data from the federal Survey of Income and Program Participation, which includes marriage, 13% of those who wed in 2003 were 45 and older. Internet dating has largely made it possible for many of these later-life first marriages. Yahoo Personals reports a 33% increase from January 2006 to November 2007 among users ages 45 and over who say they have never been married. Match.com reports an increase of almost 10%.
The full article was originally published at APP, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Things are looking up for the internet dating industry, and singles are getting more choosy. Jupiter Research predicts the internet dating industry to grow to $1.9B revenues in 2012, up from $900 million in 2007.
Headhunters For The Heart
USA TODAY — Feb 12 — Matchmakers seem to be popping up all over the country, many targeting their personalized services to eligible businessmen. Matchmaking has become such a buzzword that some dating websites use it in their marketing. In December, Match.com unveiled Match My Friends, which allows friends and family to play matchmaker. Engage.com came up with that premise when it launched in 2005. Matchmaking as a field also has grown since the 2003 opening of the Manhattan-based Matchmaking Institute, which sells a home study kit for $1,500. LaRosa's research suggests there are about 1,600 matchmakers in the USA, and about 100 are added each year. It is a very difficult business because matchmakers are dealing with emotional currency and extreme expectations. FULL ARTICLE @ USA TODAY
Online Daters Report Positive Connections
USA TODAY — Mar 5 — An estimated 16 million Americans have used a dating site or other site to meet people, the Pew Research Center reports; 45% of these have never been married. 79% say online dating is a "good way to meet people", 52% say the experience was mostly positive, 29% say it was mostly negative. 24.6 million people visited personals sites in January, comScore Media Metrix says. FULL ARTICLE @ USA TODAY
Mark Brooks: I've heard it said, there are two kinds of internet daters. Those who met someone and are happy and those that didn't, and are unhappy. Online dating takes a significant investment of time and energy. Sites such as eHarmony, TRUE, Chemistry and others are popular because they promise more compatible matches…and the promise of saving time.
Dating Game Changes After 40
USA TODAY — Dec 1 — Of almost 127 million Americans age 40 and over, more than a third are unattached. They're either casualties of the divorce explosion (13%); widowed (11%); or never married (8%). Match.com says registrations by people over 50 are up 340% since 2000. Those over 50 account for 21% of visitors to Yahoo Personals. A Yahoo Personals survey released in September found that 51% of men and 56% of women say it's acceptable for a potential date to be up to 10 years younger. So more older women are taking a cue from celebrities who are linked with men who are years or even decades their junior. "Women of a certain age want to date but don't necessarily want to be married," Carr says. "Women don't feel middle-aged. They feel there's a long life ahead." FULL ARTICLE @ USA TODAY