Match Made in Cyber
The tri-state
region went from chilly-spring to midsummer-like weather all in the month of
May. Soon summer love madness will be in
full effect before June is out. Do you
have your options to meet your spouse-to-be or a summer amour? Many people choose cyberspace to connect with
those special “someones”.
The pioneer of
web romance connections is Match.com.
Going live in 1995, Match.com still offers online and face-to-face local
events. Quantcast.com, the digital
advertising company, estimates 120.5 million Americans visit the site per
month. 77% identify as Caucasian; 9% as
African American; 9% as Hispanic; and 5% as Asian or Other. If a subscriber has challenges in waxing
dynamic statements to catch the imagination of prospects, Match.com has Profile
Pro® that assigns writers to be the Cyrano de Bergerac for them.
Chemistry.com is
Match’s sophisticated sister site.
Here subscribers take personality tests, write profile essays; and
receive Chemistry Coaching to improve social skills. Dr. Helen Fisher is the in-house
psychologist. While Quantcast.com
estimates “84.6 thousand Americans visit this site monthly”, Chemistry.com boasts
having “over 13 million people worldwide who completed the personality test.”
Apparently having
a psychologist on staff adds to creditability.
e-Harmony.com is founded by Dr. Neil Warren who established “the 29
Dimensions of Capability”.
PerfectMatch.com relies on Dr. Pepper Schwartz and her Duet® Total
Compatibility. Zoosk, the tidal wave that swept the online dating and social
networking scene in 2006, doesn’t trumpet a Ph.D. but uses “Behavioral
Matchmaking”. Why is Zoosk the tidal wave
? “Over 40 million people globally log
onto to it and it has 12.5 million Facebook Likes.
Zoosk is
“available in 25 languages and subscribers in over 70 countries”. As opposed to finding long-term, committed
relationships, Zoosk positions itself as “a fun and social online dating
experience”. Zoosk offers a Facebook
dating app, a Mobile dating app, a singles chat, and video messaging. These offerings can keep things flirty and
non-tactile.
Dr. Julie
Spooner, Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, practicing in Brooklyn, recognizes the
value of such sites. “As a clinician I
have recommended it to people who have trouble meeting people. I don’t suggest it to everyone. If I see that the person can’t meet others,
[I present it as a means] to exponentially increase the number of people to
meet”.
If the income
levels and educational attainment of subscribers to four of the reviewed sites
are factual, then roughly 57% of subscribers have completed undergraduate
studies and did some graduate studies.
Most are prosperous with six-figure incomes. Is this truth or ‘rubbery’ truth?
Dr. Spooner
“encourages moving to the telephone and then moving to the face-to-face
meeting. You shouldn’t interact
exclusively online. The voice and facial
expressions are not there for intimate communication”. Zoosk tries to keep things transparent by
virtue of its parent Facebook. One need
only visit FB profiles. Dr. Lisa
Orbé-Austin, Ph.D., a partner in Dynamic Transitions Psychological Consulting,
LLP, also sees the value in online dating and has clients who share the good
and bad aspects of it. The bad being
where “some women are surprised by men that were simply interested in a
physical relationship. However, they
later realized that it’s a function of the particular site to which they were
subscribed”.
Some people
reject the online scene. Take Hapi
Kamenthu, Merr (director) of The Earth Center of Maanu, in New York. She believes it would be “disastrous” if
online dating were to eclipse face-to-face as the first choice in the initial
meeting between people. “It would be
disastrous because the modern educational system doesn’t teach people about themselves
and their roles in life. Traditionally,
[people] will do extensive family background checks”. Dr. Orbé-Austin doesn’t see it eclipsing
face-to-face but, “thinks that online dating will be one of the primary ways
that people meet. This is not a
conversation that I was having with my clients 10 years ago, but now it’s a
very normal part of the dating discussion.”
Labels: African Americans, business, Hispanics, marriage, online dating, social media, social networking
posted by Unknown @ 9:50 AM
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