Online-dating websites prosper in the recession

　　NOT many industries are doing well in the recession. But along with discount retailers and pawnbrokers, online-dating sites such as eHarmony.com and OkCupid.com have seen business look up. There are several theories to explain why. It may be that people have more time to devote to their private lives as the economy slows; that uncertain times increase the desire for companionship; or that living alone is expensive, whereas couples can split many of their costs.

　　“People who have been single for years are suddenly focused on finding someone,” says Greg Waldorf, the boss of eHarmony, a wholesome marriage-oriented site with more than 20m paying subscribers. He favours the companionship-in-hard-times theory: “Going through difficult times with someone special is better than doing it alone.” In a recent survey carried out for his company, 25% of women said stress about the state of the economy made them more inclined to seek a long-term relationship. The company also noticed that the number of visits to its website was higher than average on days when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 100 points.

　　At OkCupid, which is aimed at a more casual, youthful crowd, there has been a jump in membership since the financial crisis set in, and an even bigger jump in how often members use the site. Back in September, users were sending 6,000 on-site instant messages a day, says Sam Yagan, OkCupid’s boss. Now that number is over 18,000. OkCupid has the advantage of being free, which has proved popular with people looking for partners for what Mr Yagan euphemistically calls “cheap entertainment”. After all, if you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend, he says, “you can just play Scrabble instead of going out for the evening.”

　　But perhaps the boom is the result of neither a nesting instinct, nor a desire to save money. AshleyMadison.com, a very different type of dating site, is also doing well. Instead of arranging marriages, the subscription-based site arranges affairs—and never before have so many people been looking for a bit on the side. AshleyMadison’s boss, Noel Biderman, thinks his site, and others, are prospering for another reason: money problems. “The majority of relationship discord stems from economic troubles,” he says. Instead of fighting, married people are taking stock of their lives. “They want to do something that makes them feel better about themselves,” Mr Biderman says, “and $49 is a tiny expenditure for a life-altering affair.”

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