Web Dating During the Recession

It’s summer and for many lovely ladies, it is prime dating season! However, given the current economic recession, more people are staying in—and that has gotten the online dating industry booming! Read up on some reasons why more people may be turning to finding love online, as well as four free websites (i.e. no membership fee) to check out!

Why online dating is thriving
People have more time to look for love. Whether a person has been laid off or has cut down on post-work happy hours, more time is being spent at home nowadays, with extra available to actively look for “the One”.

It’s less costly than going out. The dating scene can sometimes be a disappointing endeavour—and an expensive one to boot! The amount of money spent on drinks, food, and cab fare on a weekly basis can be overwhelming. With online dating, you can meet people for a relatively low cost (or free, as you’ll see below) and make an informed decision before going out to invest your time—and money—on someone.

There is a need to commiserate with someone. In these doom-and-gloom times, men and women are looking for someone to share and discuss hardships with. Conveying one’s fears and concerns to a loving ear—or even having a distraction from work and money woes—may make life just a bit easier.

People want to have someone to share expenses with. This is more of a long-term goal and maybe not what some people will outwardly admit to, but having someone to split the rent and bills with down the line sounds rather appealing—especially during these tough economic times.

FREE dating sites to check out
Plentyoffish.com This free dating site is a breath of fresh air from other sites that allow free membership but require payment to actually communicate with people. You can freely send messages to guys whose profiles you find interesting, shop around for guys in your area, attend social events run in your city by other members, and even block specific groups of users from messaging you. (Sorry, smokers living in the U.S. over the age of 40!)

Down to Earth This 100% free dating site launched by match.com has an interesting concept: wanting its users to connect with honest and respectful singles. The site relies on its community to share RealRatings of other users they’ve gone on dates with, to show whether they were genuine in their profiles. This will certainly filter out fraudsters and dishonest singles, keeping the dating environment safe and sincere.

SpeedDate.com Speed dating is a popular trend that has been around for a while… and now you can do it from your computer! After you sign up, you are launched into three minute dates with various men in your area (you can date via IM, voice or webcam). If there is no connection, you move on the next guy. If there’s a spark, you can continue to chat. It even allows you to SpeedDate on your iPhone; just download the application!

Twitter The rising social networking site’s intent was never to become an online dating destination, but it’s pretty easy to find users in your area and begin tweeting with them. We have to admit, flirting in 140 characters or less has its quirky charms!