Online+Dating

Overview
Online dating is a way by which individuals can form romantic relationships with other individuals over the internet. Online dating is a useful resource for people who are too busy to meet people “the old-fashioned way” or are having trouble meeting a romantic partner for whatever reason. Although using online dating was stigmatized when it first came on to the scene as a desperate and unnatural way to meet mates, it has gradually increased in popularity and acceptance. In fact, a 2010 large-scale survey found that it is a very popular way for couples to meet these days ([|1]). And not only is it popular, it is successful in matching people. One professor who worked on this study even stated that, “we estimate that 23 percent of the couples in the U.S. Who met in the two years from 2007 to 2009 met online” ([|1]). Furthermore, “more people meet online now than meet through school, work, church, bars, parties, et cetera” ([|1]). Match.com is the most popular dating website with over 26,000,000 users ([|2]). This [|website] encourages members of any religion, age, or sexual orientation. However, there are other sites that cater to [|Christian people], [|Jewish people], [|gay people] [|single parents], [|senior people], [|older women] looking for younger men, people who want a [|rich] mate to pamper them, any many more. There is a tremendous market out there for online dating. According to a study by the Online Publishers Association and comscore Networks, United States residents spent $469.5 million on online dating in 2004, over $500 million in 2005 ([|3]). This figure is expected to increase to $932 million in 2011 [|3].