Is the Bad Economy Helping Online Dating Sites?

According to an article posted by New York Daily News online, the downturn in our economy could be helping online dating websites.  According to one of the experts interviewed for the article, people are staying in more often and are looking for ways to “perk up” their new frugal “staying in habits.”  Not so coincidentally the sales of Kama Sutra products have risen by as much as twelve percent in the last year.  Wowza.

According to experts, people spend more time looking for long term relationships when the economy is bad.  Why, you ask?  Is it for the added income as well as the added company on nights that you are too broke to go out properly?  Is it for financial stability or is it just because you want to find someone fun to spend time with who doesn’t mind just hanging out?

Is boredom and lack of funds spurring an increase in sexual activity?  Are people suddenly concerned about the spiciness of their bedrooms because they don’t have the money to go to the movies?  Remember, this is not new.  Studies have shown that an increase in sexual activity has happened with previous economic recessions as well.

Most importantly, what does this influx of new online daters mean for you?  One could argue that, because so many more people are turning to dating sites for help finding love (or lovin’, as the article suggests), there is more competition than ever on the online dating sites out there.  As if finding your next beau online weren’t hard enough, now you have to compete with a bunch of people who have suddenly gotten over the “stigma” of finding a date through the internet?

The good news is that this sudden surge in online dating aficionados does not have to stress you out.  Instead of focusing on your “competition” (and really, it is kind of lame to look at other online daters as competition), focus on all of the new potential dating matches that are out there.  A surge in online dating means that your dating pool just got flooded with new fish.  This could mean exciting possibilities, right?

So polish up that profile, make sure that your photo isn’t embarrassing (if we can see anything you might be embarrassed to show during a car accident, choose a different photo) and start your date hunt.  Good luck out there!