Posted on 02/10/2007 8:32:12 AM PST by shrinkermd
Valentine’s Day approaches, but it seems consumers are being standoffish about online dating.
The number of U.S. Internet users visiting dating Web sites is falling, says a report set to be released Monday.
Last year, only 10% of Internet users visited at least one online dating site, down from 16% in 2005 and 21% in 2002, says the report by Jupiter Research.
The decline in unique visitors hasn’t yet resulted in a decline in subscribers, the study found, but the trend likely will at some point, analysts say.
Other research firms track the same trend. Traffic to seven of the top 10 online dating sites declined in the last year, says Nielsen/Net-Ratings. Some fell 30%.
The appeal of online dating may be wilting, says Jupiter analyst Nate Elliott. “The number of visitors has gone down in the last few years, but this is the biggest drop we’ve seen,” he said.
Companies that count on online dating sites for profit and revenue include Yahoo YHOO and IAC IACI...
(Excerpt) Read more at epaper.investors.com ...
"... Match.com is growing despite raising its monthly fee last year to $34.99 from $29.99, Safka says. “That tells us that this market is alive, well and vibrant,” he said. Many online dating sites try to attract new members by letting people post personal profiles for free. But users have to pay to contact other members. Most aren’t willing to take that step. Ten percent of the consumers in Jupiter’s survey said they posted a free profile on an online dating site last year vs. 11% in 2005.
Never date over the internet. Ever.
I met my wife online, a yahoo personal ad. That said I dated online for 13 months, I met some who I did not mesh with, some I liked but did not like me, and one who is the reason I got a carry permit.
According to Match.com commercials if you don't find "someone" in six months, the next six months are free, so raising the price may actually result in a lower yearly fee.
There are just as many liars online as off.
It's Russian Roulette. When you meet someone in person you get an immediate sixth sense reaction about whether they are right for you - online, you can waste months talking to someone completely inappropriate. Getting to "yes" or "no" and moving on quickly one way or the other requires face-to-face interaction.
And a site like Match.com is an adverse selection engine - an unusually high percentage of the people using it are social misfits, so right at the start you are asking for trouble. ;)
I met my late wife on the Internet.
It's Russian Roulette.
Dealing with people is potentially risky. The internet is no different, but it's no worse.
While I've never even visited a matchmaking type site (it's not really my style) I met my husband here at Free Republic. He was living 1500 miles away at the time. Happily ever after here :~)
I tried the matchmaking sites, but met my future husband here as well! FR worked much better.
Yeah. The traditional way worked so well for me. My marriage blows. Wish they had internet dating back then.(Early to mid 90's)
I've been online dating for years. However, I have to hide it from my wife.
There's a lot of us that have met and married from Free Republic... Some other good friends here just got married this last fall.
If internet dating sites are failing to grow, perhaps it is because internet usage has matured to the point where people know how to meet other people online without help. Most of those I know who met online met through some kind of common interest forum, not a singles ad, but I do know one couple who did meet that way.
Sounds like there's an unpleasant story assoiated with that. For every bad story, there's a good story.
FR has an advantage over Match.com, in that you can get a good feel for the person at the other end from a few minutes of looking at their past postings
Heh... it true... At FR, you bring your history with you... You sure can't tell what someone you meet on the street might have been ranting about yesterday :~)
Probably a good thing. How pathetic can you be that you can't find love in real life.
the effect, of course, if to keep the men on the hook... thinking the site is working. in the end, it's just another internet scam.
Pretty pathetic, apparently, like my wife and I who met on eharmony.com.
Both of us are successful professionals. Might want to paint with a smaller brush next time.
I just pinched my husband... He felt pretty real to me. :~)
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