Love in the Time of Recession
Is going through difficult times with someone special better than doing it alone?
Seems most single folks think it is. CNN reports that matchmakers and on line dating websites like eHarmony and OKCupid.com are prospering during this recession. eHarmony reported a 20% increase in registrations from September 2008 to January 2009. The number of visits to their site was higher than average on days when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 100 points.
"Close relationships help people cope with stress, so we gravitate toward finding and maintaining them when times are tough," says Gian Gonzaga, PhD, a psychologist and senior research scientist at eHarmony labs.
The world's leading publisher of romance fiction, Harlequin Enterprises, reported their fourth-quarter earnings were up 32% over the same period than the year before. While book sales in general were flat last year, the romance category was up 7% after holding steady for four years.
While the numbers for the dating/cuddling scene are getting rosier, the stats for new marriages and divorces are plummeting. People are staying in bad marriages and/or avoiding getting married because it costs too darn much.
And so it goes...Love in the Time of Recession.
Seems most single folks think it is. CNN reports that matchmakers and on line dating websites like eHarmony and OKCupid.com are prospering during this recession. eHarmony reported a 20% increase in registrations from September 2008 to January 2009. The number of visits to their site was higher than average on days when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 100 points.
"Close relationships help people cope with stress, so we gravitate toward finding and maintaining them when times are tough," says Gian Gonzaga, PhD, a psychologist and senior research scientist at eHarmony labs.
The world's leading publisher of romance fiction, Harlequin Enterprises, reported their fourth-quarter earnings were up 32% over the same period than the year before. While book sales in general were flat last year, the romance category was up 7% after holding steady for four years.
While the numbers for the dating/cuddling scene are getting rosier, the stats for new marriages and divorces are plummeting. People are staying in bad marriages and/or avoiding getting married because it costs too darn much.
And so it goes...Love in the Time of Recession.
Posted by Barbara Silkstone at 5/4/2009 9:00 AM 
Categories: Relationships,Money,Love,Dating
Tags: Relationships Money Dating Barbara Silkstone
Categories: Relationships,Money,Love,Dating
Tags: Relationships Money Dating Barbara Silkstone
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