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events4singles.co.za
South Africa
events4singles.co.za offers singles a comprehensive listing directory specialising
in nightclub entertainment, speed dating, online dating, clubbing, parties, dancing
adventure, travel, life coaching, and much more... |
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Dating Stories |
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| They're not
interested in old-fashioned socials |
Forget boring
dinner parties. Older Americans looking for
love have taken a cue from young urban
singles and are flocking to speed-dating
events and online personals sites.
Match.com,
a popular dating website, says registrations
among people over 50 have soared 340 percent
since 2000. The American Association of
Retired Persons now has a dating advice
column in its member magazine.
On Maryland's Eastern Shore, where the roads
are dotted with ads for new retirement
communities, the changing senior dating
scene is evident.
The speed-dating event Walsh attended was
put on by Mingling Singles, a group that's
tripled its membership since its creation
just two months ago.
Another group near Ocean City, Beach
Singles, has 150 members, all over the age
of 45, with a new chapter planned in nearby
Salisbury. The Merry Widows and Widowers
Social Club also operates in Ocean City.
"The seniors are pouring down here," said
Lois West, 71, secretary of Beach Singles.
"They move here for the beach, but then they
don't know anybody."
| 'I'm just
re-learning how to meet people' |
And they're not
interested in old-fashioned socials.
"We're much more active. A widow in the
olden days would sit inside and wear black.
Today she's probably out dancing," West
said.
The silver-haired singles scene on the
Eastern Shore is likely to keep growing.
Eight of nine counties on the shore have a
greater proportion of people over 65 than
Maryland as a whole, according to the Census
Bureau. In Talbot and Worcester counties,
more than one in five residents are now over
65, compared to about 11,3 percent for the
state as a whole.
At the speed-dating event, some attendees
said their grown children pushed them to
attend. Others said they were sick of
tagging along with friends who are couples,
or were just tired of trying to find love in
a bar.
"As soon as my 31-year-old daughter heard
about it, she was like, 'Oh, Mom, you have
to go,"' said JoAnn Collinson, 52, a widow
from Bishopville who said she's looking as
much for companionship as romance.
Rick Hosler, 56, retired to the area after a
career as a firefighter admitted being a
little scared to talk to single women.
"I would've never thought I'd do this," he
said before the lights flickered to signify
the speed-dating would begin. "I just
thought, it's something different. I'm not a
bar-type person. I don't like crowds."
The matchmaking industry is catching on to
the dating interests of older adults. Some
dating websites now have special
seniors-only areas. Spark Networks, based in
Los Angeles, started
SilverSingles
last year, and the site now has about 600
000 members. Another of its dating sites,
PrimeSingles
has another 13 000 members.
"They're not a segment we've been marketing
to aggressively, but we're still seeing it
grow," said company spokesperson Gail
Laguna. "Seniors have started to see that
it's more acceptable, more socially
acceptable, to try online dating."
Seniors are more comfortable than they used
to be with the Internet, and they're finding
that online dating lets them take their time
choosing a possible mate, said Kathleen
Roldan, spokesperson for
Match.com.
"Fifty-five and over is our fastest-growing
segment," Roldan said. "As we get older, the
pool of eligible people we have to choose
from gets smaller and smaller. And the bar
scene is not attractive."
It's too soon to know whether the
speed-dating event resulted in any romances
- like many singles groups, the women far
outnumbered the men -but based on the din of
laughter in the crowd, the singles enjoyed
it. Even Charles Walsh eventually sat down
and chatted with some ladies.
"I'm just starting again" in the singles
scene, said Ryan Boyer, 49, of Ocean City.
"It's hard. You know what I mean? Where do
you start again? I'm just re-learning how to
meet people."
Even if they don't find love quickly, senior
singles enjoy the activities more often
associated with younger people, West said.
And if romance comes later, they'll be
ready.
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