Dating Websites Blossom in a Bear Market
Looking for a new job after your layoff? You might want to target online dating companies, which are positively raking it in as the recession intensifies everyone's loneliness and insecurity. Sites like Match.com are seeing major jumps in new memberships, because people "crave reassurance and comfort during stressful economic times like this," as one New Jersey therapist puts it.
That's one way to look at it—another is that paying membership fees for a dating site is a lot cheaper than trolling bars and clubs. "I used to spend hundreds of dollars a week on my various dating efforts," says 32-year-old real estate broker Julian Glasser, "whereas now, I only spend $50 a month on online dating, and I'm pretty much guaranteed success." Hmm, hopefully his future dates won't Google him and decide to reduce his 100 percent success rate.
