What time of year do you think that online dating profiles skyrocket? If you guessed Valentine’s Day then you were close, but wrong. The correct answer is in between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The numbers aren’t in for this year yet, but last year Match.com Canadian membership jumped by 50% on the day after Christmas alone and Plentyoffish.com has already reported a 15% increase.
A lot of experts in the field have given their researched opinions on why this is true, but we’ve decided to give you our un-researched guesses. The following is what we came up with, and we’d be happy to hear your ideas.
- Mistletoe
- That midnight kiss on New Year’s Eve
- Time spent with smug married siblings
- Parents who want grandchildren
- Time off from work, leaving too much time to revel in loneliness
- “It’s a Wonderful Life” and similar movies, leaving us with a void of warm-fuzziness
- Cold winter nights
- The prospect of no date for the office holiday party
- The view of Valentine’s Day on the horizon
- Promotional prices from online dating sites taking advantage of people already vulnerable due to reasons 1-9
That’s a lot of pressure to join the wave of online daters but don’t let the holiday season rush you. The experts we mentioned early also point out that if you don’t have a date for December 31st by now, it may be better to take the opportunity to meet new people, rather than spend New Year’s Eve with someone you only have lukewarm feelings for. So take your time, check out Consumer-Rankings reviews of dating sites and do things the right way. The mistletoe is coming down any day now, so don’t let the pressure get to you.
