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IN THE NAME OF LOVE
Where singles are looking for love in the digital world
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With Valentine's Day on the way, no one wants to be left cuddling up to a pillow
on what really should be known as Singles Awareness Day. It seems to be
getting harder to find someone who cares about more than how many Jäger
bombs they can down or isn't going to make you watch Battlestar Galactica
marathons on a Friday night. For Gen Ys, who can no longer rely on that
Beckett seminar or Orgo lab as places to meet their future mates, the
hunt for love is still thriving online. And for those for whom
Match.com doesn't cut it, there are a number of alternatives:
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Urban Signals:
When even the other side of the city can seem too far, nothing is more
deflating to a would-be dater than when a site leads them to a perfect
mate-in-waiting who, they come to find out, lives on the other side of
the country. This location-based mobile app alerts you, in real-time,
when ready-to-mingle singles are within close proximity. By posting a
quick profile, you won't let those Missed Connections
in the park slip through the cracks. Send an innocent "signal" -
essentially the equivalent of a Facebook "poke" - to that girl you sat
next to on the train; if she reciprocates, that means she's willing to
talk and hopefully meet at the coffee shop around the corner. But just
like Facebook, Urban Signals isn't going to find your match unless they
too have the app on their superphone.
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BeautifulPeople:
Tired of uploading page after page of ugos
on eHarmony? Maybe you'll fare a little better on this private online
community for the genetically-blessed. Lest you think the site is
propagating the same inhumane standards of the fashion industry, any
unreasonable aesthetic biases can be blamed on its members who are, in
fact, the ones defining "beauty" here. To merely become a member of
this dating site you have to be voted in by members of the opposite
sex. But don't think that once you're in, you're safe to slack on your
looks, because after this past holiday season they gave the axe to 5,000 members,
reportedly banning them for gaining too much fruit cake weight. What we
can't understand is why any self-respecting romance seeker would post
said photos of themselves with double chins and love handles poking out
from under the sides of their oxford buttondowns?
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* References to products and services in trendcentral do not imply our endorsement, but rather are intended to provide objective insights into emerging trends and examples of those trends. trendcentral is published by The Intelligence Group, a trend research and consumer insights company focusing on youth culture. For more information on our services, or to subscribe to our syndicated Cassandra Report studies, please contact Noelle Weaver at 212-277-5244 or via email at nweaver@intelg.com.
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