Online Dating

Online dating was first introduced in the early 1990s and has grown in popularity since then. It now makes more than four billion dollars per year. DateAgency.com is one of the most popular and uses match-making software to help its users find people who have similar but complementary personalities. In 2002, social networking sites were introduced. The first were Friendster and MySpace but now there are others like Facebook and Orkut. These sites are not specifically designed for online dating but there are add-ons that make them more suited for dating.

Social networking is replacing online dating with people in the 18-25 year old bracket currently. This is because of the multi-functionality of social networking sites compared to online dating sites as well as the fact that a real commitment to social networking does not have to be made. That is, a fee is not required to belong. Because of this phenomenon, online dating is now extending its focus to the older or “Baby Boomer” generation. These people are over 50 years old. DateAgency.com was one of the first sites to introduce dating for the elderly and has categories for people over 50 and over 60. Also, this site was co-developed by Dr. Pepper Schwartz who has more than thirty years of experience with sociology and sexology and also happens to be an ambassador for the American Association of Retired People (AARP). Dr. Schwartz has also written books on dating for older people and is available for consultation to Platinum members of DateAgency.com