(Online Dating Industry Journal) Dr. James Houran, spokesperson and columnist for Online Dating Magazine, has written an editorial in which he suggests that the number of marriages that occur on an online dating service isn't a measure of how "successful" that service has become.
The editorial is titled "Marriages From Online Dating Sites - Enough Alrealdy!".
Online Dating Magazine has put out a press release about its position, which states, in part:
"...Dr. Houran believes that the growth of unsubstantiated compatibility tests and matching systems is harming the industry because online daters are led to believe that the tests scientifically work..."
Some online dating services are using marriages to define the site's "success" as a matchmaking service. Dr. Houran warns about this saying, "that the popular marketing trend for dating services to emphasize marriage and marriage sustenance are promoting unrealistic expectations in consumers and sending the wrong message to online daters."
You can download and republish the press release here or view the editorial here.
Joe's Comments:
It's a controversial stance that took me awhile to agree with (I actually held the editorial from being published for a month while analyzing the position). It makes sense too because lets say that a Russian service that matches American men to Russian women has a higher percentage of marriages than Yahoo! Personals, eHarmony, and Chemistry.com. Does that mean that the Russian service is more "successful" than the others? Absolutely not!
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