Not surprisingly, the current global financial crisis has had a great impact on peoples’ personal lives. Relationships have been heavily affected. And there have been surprising changes in sexual behavior and dating habits. While many of these consequences are negative, they’re not all bad.
The worst effect has been the immediate impact on married couples. Money being so central to marriage, the sudden financial strain has been devastating to many unions. Numerous counseling services in the UK are reporting a big rise in calls for assistance, sometimes up by a factor of close to sixty percent over last year.
But there have been other, more indirect effects – for instance the influence on the sex industry. Brothels in Australia are generally not nearly as profitable as they used to be, with many struggling to stay in business. The main reason is that men now have less disposable income (or are concerned that it may drop heavily in the near future) and are therefore less likely to spend their hard earned money on sex.
Then there’s the online matchmaking industry. More and more men and women are using these sites for casual encounters, so the number of sexually frustrated males is lower than in the recent past. While those profiting from prostitution may not be happy about these developments, there must be many who see them as a good thing!
And as the brothels go bust, some big matchmaking sites are actually reporting a substantial rise in subscriptions. While the two trends may have nothing to do with each other, it does seem plausible that they are related.
There are different theories about the nature of the link. For instance, it could just be that people who have lost their jobs or are getting less hours at work are now using their extra free time to meet people.
But I think the major causative factor is not more hours, but less money! Online dating is simply a cheaper way to meet members of the opposite sex.
When you think about it, going out to socialize can be very expensive. If you have a car there’s the cost of petrol and parking. If you don’t you still have to pay for public transport or taxis.
Once at the venue, you have to pay the cost of admission. Sometimes this can be quite hefty, particularly for singles events. And you always get hungry, so you have to fork out for a meal as well! Then there are all those highly priced drinks you pay for during the night …
But if you’re sitting at home in front of your PC, you don’t incur any of those costs. Sure, you might not meet as many people as you would at a party in the “real world”. But some of these big sites have hundreds, if not thousands of members online at any one time. What with Skype and similar video chat programs you can see and hear them, too.
Also, unlike in a smoky pub or nightclub, the interaction is a bit more meaningful. You can make more sensible, selective decisions about who you want to get to know, and who you don’t.
Which all goes to make online a dating a very smart choice for singles in these cash-strapped times. And regardless of the cost, it’s still an effective antidote to all the gloom and doom about the world economy. Nothing can lift your mood more than meeting someone new, after all.
