Singles turn to online dating as recession empties wallets, hearts

By Emilie Schneider, The Post/UWire

Published April 10, 2009

As people continue to lose their jobs and take pay cuts, many do not want to weather the recession alone.

Single people are looking for companionship on Web sites like eHarmony and OkCupid because a partner can help ease the stress caused by the current economy.

New members signing up for OkCupid increased about 60 percent since September, from 110,000 per month to 180,000 per month. There was also a 25 percent increase in the number of minutes people spent on the site in the last six months.

Two reasons for the boom in dating Web sites during this recession are that people want to have a partner to commiserate with and the last thing someone who is having a rough time wants is to be lonely, said Sam Yagan, co-founder of OkCupid, a free online dating site.

"I think there are a lot of people looking for companionship," Yagan said, adding that this is also a great opportunity for self-improvement and people have more time to spend on personal relationships.

"It is actually cheaper to have a relationship than be single because you can stay at home and rent a movie," he said. "When you are single you tend to want to go out."

Ohio University alumna Stephanie Thompson, 25, has been a member of OkCupid since October 2005 and is not surprised that there is an increase in the number of people using dating sites.

"It makes sense that in tough times that people would want to turn to activities at home and would want someone to share that with," Thompson said.

The number of searches on Google for terms related to online dating increased an average of 20 percent between July and December 2008 compared to the same time period in 2007, according to data provided by eHarmony, an online dating site that charges about $60 for a one-month subscription.

Monthly registrations at eHarmony increased an average of 20 percent from September to January compared to the same time the prior period year.

Statistics also showed that in the last few months, eHarmony saw a 2 percent increase in the number of pages people viewed on the site on days when the Dow Jones industrial average lost 100 points or more compared to days when it gained 100 points or more.

"Close relationships help people cope with stress, so we gravitate toward finding and maintaining them when times are tough," said Dr. Gian Gonzaga, the senior research scientist for eHarmony.