Video dating embraced by young men and no-one else, study suggests

In less than surprising news given the stereotypes, young men (under 25) were the most likely people to be in favour of introducing webcams into online dating and video dating web sites.

On the other hand, nearly three-quarters of women said it was a definite no-no, particularly on dating sites.

That’s according to several studies by MakeFriendsOnline.com.

Last year, a survey of their members discovered that men wanted it, but over half of women didn’t.

As online dating which includes the use of videos is still rising in popularity, the site decided to run the survey again. This time they found that nearly three-quarters of male respondents liked webcams and wanted to use them on dating sites, but 63% of female respondents didn’t.

This suggest that men on cams might be increasingly talking to themselves, and also illustrates a marked trend with the percentage of women unwilling to use webcams increasing at a convincing rate.

The increased availability of Webcam Sites was reflected in the overall results which show an additional 12% of women have tried Webcam Dating since the last survey, but of those, a massive two thirds didn’t like it and wouldn’t do it again. By comparison, the male figures remain fairly static, the majority being as willing and eager to use a webcam this year as they were last.

The MD of MakeFriendsOnline, Martin Bysh, said, “In a market where it is notoriously difficult to attract and retain female users, MakeFriendsOnline is very proud and protective of it’s female membership, which at 51% is probably the best male/female ratio you’ll find anywhere. We would not want to alienate our female members by offering a feature that makes them uncomfortable and certainly not one which would actively put them off joining our site. We will therefore not be adding webcams to MFO.”

What do you think? If you’re open to the idea of online dating, would you be put off by the concept of using a web cam?

Singles with pets can reduce your chances of finding love by up to 40%

Pet-owning singletons looking for love may be disappointed, as research from a leading UK dating agency suggesting that chances of finding a successful human love interest is reduced by up to 40%.

Key findings of the research included:

• Nearly half of all singles — 6.1 million — now own a pet.
• Singles spend £5.6 billion each year pampering their pets.
• One in four men wouldn’’t date a woman with two or more cats.
• A third of women won’’t date a man who shares his pillow with a pet.
• If push came to shove 25% of singles would choose their pet over a new partner.
• Nearly two thirds of singles say they really love their pet and think of him/her as a member of the family.
• The main reason for the dating dilemma is purely medical: pet allergies.

Dr Victoria Lukats, psychiatrist and PARSHIP’s dating and relationship expert commented, ““People invest a lot in their pets emotionally, but whilst some singles may see their pets as surrogate partners or children, this research shows that these people are in the small minority. Rather than the stereotype of a spinster with several cats, the reality is that many singles simply enjoy owning a pet but they would probably put their human relationships first.”