Just the Facts

The first online dating site was WebPersonals.com, 1993.

According to a January 2005 Jupiter Research study, 14% of adults online (21 million) browsed online personals and 11% (17 million) had posted personals.

Nearly one in five men who are online say that they visit an online personals site at least once a month.

Match.com has 29,000,000 visitors a month. 

The top five dating sites, ranked by the Hitwise in June 2007:

1. Singlesnet
2. Yahoo Personals
3. PlentyofFish
4. Match.com
5. eHarmony

Total Web users in the U. S. (age 15+) 152,350,000

Personals Total 20,555,000

1. Yahoo! Personals 4,153,000
2. Match.com 3,970,000
3. True.com 3,086,000
4. Spark Networks 2,504,000
5. Singlesnet.com 2,173,000

January and February are the busiest months for dating sites. 

When Match.com first launched 10 years ago, they signed up 60,000 singles in the first year.  Match.com reports roughly 60,000 people now register every day (2005).

Did you know that online dating is one of the top money makers online? After nearly a decade of double-digit growth, online dating revenue rose 7% last year to slightly more than $515 million, per Jupiter Media. (Match’s share is about $250 million.)

Match.com claims to initiate over 130 engagements and marriages each month.

A Match.com survey of older singles found intelligence the most important trait they looked for in a mate, followed by fidelity, confidence, and humor.

According to a New York Times article on a study about online dating, men who reported incomes of greater than $250,000 got 156% more emails than the relative poor who made under $50,000. And guys who stated they were interested in a "Long term relationship" got a lot more email than those who said they were "Just curious."  The worst thing a guy can say is that he is "Seeking a casual relationship." Those guys got 42% less emails. Now, if a woman said the same, she got 17% MORE.

Jupiter Research reports that 12% of people registering with online dating sites are married.

The U. S. Census reported that 82 million men and women in the U.S. are unmarried:

• 20 million adults are divorced
• 13.6 million are widowed
• More than 48 million have not married
• More than 48% of all households are headed by unmarried individuals
• About 40% of the work force is unmarried.

The Census Bureau has projected that between the ages of 15 and 85, the average man and woman will spend more years unmarried than married.

If You’re Looking for Love, it's good to know --

For 20-somethings: There are 119 single (never marrieds, divorced, or widowed) men for every 100 single women.

For the over-65 crowd: There are 34 single (never marrieds, divorced, or widowed) men for every 100 single women.

To find those singles: There are 904 off-line and online dating services in the U.S.

The percentage of the single adult population over the age of 18 in 2000 was 40.4. In 1970, that figure was 28.3.

Artificial Life (www.artificiallife.com) is a Hong Kong company that recently announced the development of a virtual girlfriend who can live in your cell phone. A "Virtual Boyfriend" is in the works.

Do you know any other fascinating facts about singles or CyberDating?

Send them to me, and I will post them. (Please cite your source!)