General News

According to recent census data, young couples are putting off marriage until their late twenties. The average age for a woman to marry is 26, while for men it's 28.

It seems that young people prefer to stay unmarried through their mid-twenties, either in long-term relationships or dating casually rather than rushing into marriage Experts have noticed this trend as well. A recent article in USA Today notes that young couples are choosing to stay in relationships for years, even a decade, before deciding to tie the knot.

Author Hannah Seligson discusses this trend in her book A Little Bit Married. She notes that about 23 million young couples are in committed unmarried relationships, up tenfold from the 1970s. These young couples are primarily college educated and city dwellers. Some have also witnessed their parents' marriages fall apart, and so they want to be sure they are marrying the right person for the right reasons.

In a recent interview I did with Seligson, she notes: "The concept of rushing down the aisle is a gait of another generation. You are now in the slim minority if you have not 'tested the waters' before marriage. So most people, particularly if they meet in their twenties, think it's a good idea to put on your marriage training wheels."

Authors Shannon Fox and Celeste Liversidge of recently released book Last One Down the Aisle Wins discuss just how young is "too young" for marriage. They maintain that the last thing young people in their twenties should be thinking about is marriage. "It is wise to be purposeful about how you spend your single years," they stated recently in The Washington Post. "Young people are staying in school longer, living at home longer and achieving true independence much later in life. We strongly believe that these days, you need to be able to stand on your own two feet (financially, physically and emotionally) before you're able to make a good choice in a partner or be a good partner."

They add, "The purpose of your twenties is to become the best complete person you can be, not the best half of a couple. That's what marriage is about."

Well, the BeautifulPeople.com latest press release about them launching a virtual Sperm Bank sure has garnered some attention. Newsweek, Mashable, The BBC, and a pile of other media websites have all written articles on the news. Some of the articles are a little confusing though and make it sound like BeautifulPeople.com are actually running a Sperm Bank and distributing donor samples. In fact all they have done is created a forum on their dating site which allows people to connect with those who are interested in supplying their sperm/egg.

The BeautifulPeople.com virtual sperm bank is a forum where members register and state their procreation interests. A number of members already registered on the forum are married or in a relationship where for many reasons, an external donor is required. Likewise, many men have been able to register to help infertile couples or single women to conceive healthy, attractive offspring. ... Members wishing to donate will be able to access information on which clinics to contact and gather information on the donor protocol.

Spark Networks was featured on ABC News Nightline the other day talking about their online dating strategy of going after specific niches, like their popular dating service for Jewish singles called JDate. The Jewish community in North America has made this the number one dating site for this particular niche with over 750,000 active online daters. Another dating site of Spark Networks which they claim is growing fast is ChristianMingle.com. The video from Nightline actually shadows a couple who met recently on Christian Mingle going on their first date.

Spark Networks has over 32 niche dating sites which span the range of dating, for people of different religious faiths, to single military men and women overseas. Spark Networks also sponsors popular single events at Caribbean getaways and on Cruises. You also can't forget about their speed dating site, Hurry Date, which has become popular in and around New York City.

In the video, it was nice to see a bit behind the scenes at Spark Networks call center service. They receive on average 1,700 calls a day. Nightline also mentioned Spark Networks being a $45 million a year business which while very impressive isn't as impressive as back in 2006 where I believe they were making over $80 million.

Ultimately Spark Networks is taking the approach that smaller dating pools which are narrower and much more specific in focus are better for matching. Singles who join these dating services have a sense of community and much better chance at finding love.

To find out more on the popular dating sites from Spark Networks, read the following reviews:

• JDate.com review
• Christian Mingle review
• Spark.com review

Ashley Madison has offered $25 million to buy the naming rights for the next five years to the new Giants-Jets Meadowlands stadium. This stadium will also hold the 2014 Super Bowl which funny enough Ashley Madison has had problems with before. The NFL refused to air one of Ashley Madison's commercials during the last Super Bowl. The CEO of Ashley Madison, Noel Biderman, mentioned that they may even up the offer if needed.

It looks like Noel may have to up it by a factor of 5 since the Jets have had an offer of $25 million per 1 year for the naming rights to the stadium.

For more on the story, read the New York Daily News.

Cupidtino, a new dating website for those who prefer their MacBooks to PCs, launched earlier this month and has already gained a following of more than 16,000 Apple lovers.

The dating site is exclusively for fans of Apple products. The site's founder Mel Sampat had the idea that people who were passionate about their electronics could also make for good romantic partners. Ironically, he is a former Microsoft employee.

The website introduction reads: "Diehard Mac & Apple fans often have a lot in common - personalities, creative professions, a similar sense of style and aesthetics, taste, and a love for technology. We believe these are enough fundamental reasons for two people to meet and fall in love, and so we created the first Mac-inspired dating site to help you find other Machearts around you."

With all the niche dating sites out there matching those with similar interests, including video game lovers and environmentalists, shouldn't those who are avid fans of Apple technology find other "Machearts" too?

In your Cupidtino profile, you can reveal to potential partners what your earliest Apple purchase was and list your favorite iPhone apps. If that's not love, what is?

There are some limitations with the site. You can only access the site through a Mac, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, although you can only view photos on a Mac or iPad. If you try to login through a PC, it will lead you to a page that lets you know Cupidtino is off-limits to Windows users.

For more on this dating site for Apple fans you can visit Cupidtino directly.

Don't forget that today is Father's Day.

Did you know that single parents make up a large percentage of online daters? On Match.com, 39 percent of male subscribers are single Dads. These single dads are also 46 percent more likely to meet someone on Match.com when compared to the average male who does not have children. This advantage increases, the older the Dad is. Single Dad's who still have children living at home also have a slight higher success rate on Match.com

For you single Moms out there, single Dads are 56 percent more likely to email you than men without children. This is probably the main reason why single Dads have more success on dating sites. The best chance to meet a single Dad online at Match.com is early in the morning (from 6am to 9am). This is when they log into the dating site the most often to browse profiles and send messages.

44 percent of single Dads on Match.com are between the ages of 35 and 45 with 30 percent being 45 to 55 years old. 68 percent of Dads also wait at least 3 months before allowing their date to meet their children.

For more on the story, read "Up To Date" and for further details about this dating site, read our Match.com review.

If you are interested in a dating site just for single parents, check out our review of Single Parent Meet.