In
today’s busy world, online dating has become commonplace. More and more people are
using the Internet to find dates and lovers, causing the online dating industry
to be worth more than $1.4 billion a year. According to Forbes, it has
surpassed porn as the highest revenue generator on the web.
Shannon
Smith is the Personal Relations Coordinator for Plenty of Fish, one of the
better known free dating websites. She says that online dating is gaining
popularity because of people’s lack of time.
“People
are leading busier lives than ever, and finding the time to meet quality people
can be difficult,” she explains. “By using online dating sites, users can meet
people they are compatible with at a time that works best for them.”
Since
its debut in 2003, Plenty of Fish now boasts over 39.5 million users worldwide,
and that number is expected to reach 40 million by Valentine’s Day.
“Now
that we’re moving into 2012, the benefits of online dating are more apparent
than ever,” Smith says. “Our members have the opportunity to communicate with
an extremely diverse group of people who they would most likely never meet otherwise.
Also, users can automatically see if they may be interested in someone without
having to meet them first. From viewing a profile, users can get a great idea
about someone’s hobbies, interests, cultural preferences, and values, which is
all important information that most typical [not-online] daters will not learn
until after a few dates.”
Many
“mainstream” sites like Match and Lavalife (and even POF) ask customers to fill
out extensive questionnaires to help narrow down their matches, but sometimes
it still leaves too many potential partners. Because of that, niche dating
websites have become increasingly more popular, as users can ensure that the
people they meet on their niche site already have a strong common interest or
lifestyle. The hope is that this will speed up the dating process, and
alleviate awkward first dates by giving you topics to bond over. Here is a list
of ten sites that might help you find a more specifically perfect partner.
1).
WeWaited.com:
“The friendly place for virgins to meet” is the tagline for this dating site. The
founders of the site conduct extensive background research on the users to
ensure that they are actually virgins, and not just people who like to pop
cherries.
“We
will believe them to be virgins only if we can corroborate their honesty,” the
site proclaims in the FAQ’s about how they know their members are virgins. They
have details about the background checks performed on all users, and because of
this I didn’t even bother trying to lie to get an account.
The
standard membership is free but they do offer upgrades that cost depending on the
package.
2).
StachePassions.com: For
women who like mustaches and men who like growing them. With a mere 700
members, this site hasn’t gained as much popularity as others, but if you can
grow a quality Tom Selleck style mustache, there is a good chance you’ll find
the perfect girl on here.
However,
the site is alarmingly hard to navigate, and has a basic format that is not
appealing to use. In three days of trying, I still haven’t successfully discovered
how to message anyone. It’s part of the Passions network, which has over 200 dating
services under its umbrella. Beerpassions. com and coffeepassions.com are just
as difficult to navigate.
3).
DiaperMates.com: This
is an online mecca for AB/DL, which translates to Adult Babies and Diaper
Lovers. These are people that like to be treated as a baby and those who like
to care for them. Currently this site boasts over 12,000 members from around
the world, but is based in the Netherlands. According to Alexa Statistics, 51 per
cent of the DiaperMates traffic comes from the US, and 47.4 per cent of the
Canadian traffic comes from Owen Sound, Ontario.
5).
420Dating.com: Why
toke alone when there might be a cutie just around the corner who’d love to
join you? This dating service is supposedly for people whose longest romantic
relationship is with Mary Jane and want to meet others who share the same
acceptance of weed.
This
site gets an average of 6,850 visitors per month. I signed up and after three
days, curiously, the only messages I received were from men in Nigeria asking
for my cell number. After researching reviews, I found many warnings about this
site.
“This
is not a legitimate dating site,” says one of the reviews. “Do not give them
any personal information. You will get emails in bad English from West African
countries.” Apparently, the site is a marketing program just used to sell
advertising based on web traffic, so I deleted my account.
6).
CupidTino.com: So
you meet a great cutie and talk to them for hours over coffee. At the end of
the conversation you discover that they are a PC user, and don’t own any Apple
products, and you are immediately repulsed. If this has ever happened to you,
check out this site. It’s designed for Apple fanatics to find other Mac-heads
in their local area.
Unlike
other dating sites, it has a very clean and simple look, inspired by the Mac
product packaging. Once signed up, it was very user-friendly. To show your
interest in someone, you can “Mac Him”, “Write a Message”, or “Meet him at the
nearest Mac Store”. It can be used exclusively on Apple products, which means
you actually cannot sign up if you don’t own a Mac.
7).
LargeAndLovely.com: This
is just one of multiple examples of dating websites for big and beautiful women
(BBW) and big and handsome men (BHM), and the people who admire them (Fat
Admirers). According to Alexa Statistics, there are about 30 sites catering to
this niche. No need to use photographs from high school or employ extensive
Photoshop techniques on these sites.
8).
PositiveSingles.com: This
service is for people with sexually transmitted diseases and infections, which
eases the burden of disclosure. The site offers customers a live chat with
counselors about living STI-positive, and how to go about living a regular life
with a disease.
Members must specify what types of diseases or infections they have, so that others know what they are getting into. As of 2009, there were more than 65,000 Canadians living HIV positive, and over 400 million people worldwide are living with various types of STI’s. Like most dating sites, on PositiveSingles, members can seek matches with people of the same sex as well as the opposite sex. Roughly five per cent of the users are from Canada.
9).
TrekPassions.com: Live
long and prosper together. This is a site where guys who dreamt about being
Captain Kirk and girls that dreamt about being with him can mingle. Not
strictly for Trekkies, the site has 56 different groups, all targeting a
different sci-fi fan base. With 4686 members, Star Trek was by far the most popular
group. Matrix fans
have 2387 people to talk to, and the Douglas Adams group has 1162 members.
According to Alexa Statistics, TrekPassions “is visited more frequently by
males who are in the age range 25-34, have no children, are college educated,
and browse this site from home.” No kidding.
10).
TheAtlasphere.com: “What
do you think was the main symbolism of Dagny Taggart’s visions in the early
chapters of Atlas Shrugged?” isn’t a great pick up line in most bars, but will
win hearts on this site. Its members are fans of Ayn Rand and her books such as
Atlas Shrugged,
and The Fountainhead. It features columns and chat forums about her work, and has
over 15,000 dating profiles, allowing objective idealists to meet one another.
“The
worst thing any young objectivist really hates to hear is ‘Oh, I read Ayn Rand
in college. You’ll grow out of it,’” says founder Joshua Zader.
“The
amazing thing is how many of us don’t grow out of it. Her philosophy is
something you have to grow into.”
By
creating TheAtalasphere, Zader welcomed a niche client base that likely had a
difficult time finding someone who shared a love of Rand’s work on a generic
dating site. According to Alexa Statistics, that client base is primarily
“males who are over 65 years old, have no children, and received some college
education.”
With
all of these online options, it’s a wonder any of us are still single.
FUN
FACTS ABOUT ONLINE DATING
-Top
3 things guys lie about: age, height, and income.
-Top
3 things girls lie about: weight, physical build, and age.
-Customers
of dating sites spend an average of $239 per year.
-Currently
there are over 1.4 billion online daters around the world.
-25%
of Canadians have tried online dating in the past year.
//Leah Scheitel, writer
//Graphics by Stefan Tosheff
//Leah Scheitel, writer
//Graphics by Stefan Tosheff
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