Online Dating May Not Be A Perfect Marriage Match
NBC5.com - Money - Online Dating May Not Be A Perfect Marriage Match
Some Say Advertising Tactics Misleading
CHICAGO — It’s a sign of the times — and a booming business.
It is estimated that there are more than 800 online dating Web sites, up from more than 200 from last year alone. It’s a highly competitive landscape where companies fight for consumers’ business, Target 5’s Lisa Parker reported. Those companies fight for business using tactics that some say may not always be fair.
Beyond the smiling faces of those happily-wedded couples seen advertised on many online dating Web sites, there is some sobering information recently revealed in one new study that paints a much different picture.
Deana Mason, 35, said she went online and found equally big promises.
“I’ve seen all these commercials, you know, they’re like, ‘It’s scientifically proven, find the love of your life. You will find your husband on our site,’” Mason said. “You know, ‘The most marriages of any site online. And I think, ‘Well you know, why am I not finding this Mr. Right online?’”
Chase Demoss also said he surfed the Internet hoping to meet a match.
“It seems like all the sites that I’ve been to are all geared towards marriage, get married,” Demoss said.
In the fiercely competitive realm of online dating, companies are struggling to stand out, Parker reported. Some now offer high-tech extras like instant messaging and video. Many feature pictures of promise — clients who found wedded bliss through cyberspace.
“Well, there are a lot of things that online dating does well,” said Mark Thompson of WeAttract.com ” Arranging marriages is not one of them. You see lots of happy couples. But what they’re not going to tell you is that out of about 2,000 people they match up, only one couple is actually going to get married.”
Once recent industry report accuses the sites of using advertising that is misleading, unsubstantiated — or at least exaggerated. Advertisements, some say, are in need of regulation.
“These companies should be following the FTC guidelines for advertising,” said Glenn Hutchinson, also of WeAttract.com. “If they’re really prominently showing couples that have gotten married through their site, then they need to be very candid about how frequently that occurs and how many users actually find those happy marriages.”
Some key research many Web sites do not share with their future clients are their success rate — just how many of their clients do end up married or in long-term relationships. Observers said the skyrocketing growth seen in online dating this year is showing the first signs of slowing down.
