But what are the odds of an STD?

Although online dating may be fun and exciting to some there are many down sides to it as well. The increasing rate of STDs is one of them. It’s common enough these days to pick up an STD so imagine how easy it can be from someone you met online and hardly know much about. The growth of the online dating world continues but the risks of an STD grow as well. “This is one main reason that Online Dating Magazine has opened the STD Information Center, an in-depth educational reference on sexually transmitted diseases.” (Tracy)

There was a study done by The Journal of the American Medical Association in July 2000 to compare the risk of STDs from those seeking a partner online to those not online. And in their conclusion they found that  “clients who seek sex using the Internet appear to be at greater risk for STDs than clients who do not seek sex on the Internet.” (McFarlane) That’s proof right there that many of today’s STDs are spread from those dating online.

It’s become such an issue in the world that there is actually online dating sits out there for those infected with an STD. There are sites like MPWH.com and stdmatch.net because there are that many people out there with STDs. “One in four women is infected with genital herpes, and nearly one in five men according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” (Cohen) Now I don’t know about you but I think that’s a pretty big amount of people out there with an STD.

So how do you honestly know what you’re getting yourself into when making an account for online dating? Yes it’s fun and exciting but when doing this you have to educate yourself with the proper information before taking this plunge. Keep in mind the odds and don’t rush into anything, Online dating shouldn’t be for finding a one night stand, that could in turn lead to a bigger problem. It should be about finding your sole mate.

Works Cited

            Cohen, Elizabeth. "Rising STD Rate Sparks Online Dating Sites - CNN." Featured Articles from CNN. CBB Health, 27 Feb. 2007. Web. 29 Aug. 2011. <http://articles.cnn.com/2007-02-27/health/std.internet_1_herpes-web-sites-human-papillomavirus?_s=PM:HEALTH>

           Tracy, Joe. "STDs a Serious Issue in the Online Dating World." Online Dating Magazine - Dating Service News Tips and Reviews. Joe Tracy, Publisher of Online Dating Magazine, Jan. 2004. Web. 29 Aug. 2011. <http://www.onlinedatingmagazine.com/columns/editorial03.html>.

            McFarlane, Mary, Sheana S. Bull, and Cornelis A. Rietmeijer, "The Internet as a Newly Emerging Risk Environment for Sexually Transmitted Diseases, July 26, 2000, McFarlane Et Al. 284 (4): 443 - JAMA. "JAMA, the Journal  of the American Medical Association, a weekly Peer-reviewed Medical Journal Published by AMA - JAMA. JAMA, July 2000. Web. 29 Aug. 2011. <http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/284/4/443>.

Love Don't Cost A Thing

Why Recessions Push Us to Date...

Whether you are surfing online dating websites looking for love, a snuggle buddy, a free meal, or just a good old fashioned hook up, internet dating has grown rapidly due to economic recessions. You might not realize the forces that drove you there, but online dating has proven to be recession-proof.

Make no mistake about it; recession equals unemployment, and unemployment equals loneliness! “At a time when money is scarce or uncertain, when people are assessing their priorities, they don’t want to go through it alone,” said Dr. Pepper Schwartz, a professor of sociology at the University of Washington in Seattle, and the relationship expert at Perfectmatch.com, which had a 51 percent increase in new members in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with 2007. “When you’re not sure what’s coming at you, love seems all the more important,” Dr. Schwartz said. (Ellin, A., 2009)

The first major recession to follow the 90's internet boom took place in 2000, followed by our most recent economic downturn in 2008.

In 1999, only two percent of American singles had used some form of online personals services. By 2002, right in the middle of that major recession, those numbers had grown. One in four singles were then using internet dating services in their search for a potential partner and internet dating had grown into a $304 million business. (Orr, 2004)

Fast forwarding to 2008, Match.com had its strongest fourth quarter in the last seven years. So, counting backwards to seven years ago, their last strongest fourth quarter would have been back in 2001 which, coincidentally, was during the last economic recession. During the last economic downturn, in 2001, Duane Dahl, the chief executive of Perfectmatch.com, noted that there was a spike in interest similar to what the industry is seeing now. For instance, he said, the strong third and fourth quarter results his company saw in 2008 were consistent with 2001 numbers. (Ellin, A., 2009)

Unemployment also leads to boredom for those who find themselves at home with no money and nothing to do. “During recessions people stay at home more, they don’t want to pay and go to bars. They’re going online to meet each other,” said Markus Frind, the chief executive of Plentyoffish, a free site, where visits have increased 77 percent from December 2007 to December 2008, and 32 percent over the last three months. (Ellin, A., 2009)

WORKS CITED

Ellin, Abby (2009) The Romance of Recession. Isn’t It Romantic? NYTimes.com: Fashion and Style. Retrieved on August 18, 2011 from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/fashion/12dating.html

Orr, Andrea. 2004. Meeting, Mating, and Cheating: Sex, Love, and the New World of Online Dating. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Reuters.