Navigating the hype of Internet dating sites

On Life and Love After 60 Newsletter

Tom Blake               January 27, 2015

Navigating the hype of Internet dating sites

I get a lot of Internet dating junk mail in my inbox. Sometimes I read it just for entertainment. A few days ago, AB Newswire, a paid online press release distribution service, sent out a press release about a dating website called EuroDate, which ostensibly has over 40,000 members worldwide. The press release title: EuroDate Shares 5 Top Cities for Discovering Love in 2015.

The press release said the five cities are “…where a large number of romantic men and women are located.”

I was curious how EuroDate knows that these five cities have large numbers of romantic men and women so I read further.

The release stated, “Hungary’s capital Budapest has a crowd of amorous singles looking to meet their partner from overseas on EuroDate. Although it can get very cold in Hungary in winter, many Hungarians are warm, caring and tender and make a great catch when it comes to dating.”

Hmmm. My partner Greta and I will be in Budapest in May; we will try to locate that crowd of amorous singles there. Perhaps they congregate at the famous Hotel Victoria, the Budapest Castle Hill Funicular, or another Budapest landmark.

Next, the press release stated, “Another fine city represented on EuroDate is Manchester, one of the UK’s top cities for culture and creativity, where singles are always ready for a lively time.”

Hmmm. How does EuroDate know that singles in Manchester are always ready for a lively time? Aren’t singles everywhere always ready for a lively time? At least the younger singles. I was beginning to suspect that perhaps EuroDate’s demographic wasn’t aimed at the over 50 crowd, who are sometimes ready for a lively time, but certainly not always.

Next, the press release stated, “Riding high on EuroDate’s classic destinations of love is Vienna (Austria), a place where the magic of the city seems reflected by the sophistication of those who live there.”

What does that statement have to do with singles and dating? On our European trip, Greta and I are visiting Vienna as well. We will try to find out what dating is really like in Vienna, especially for older singles.

The press release continued: “There is little surprise that New York, the city that never sleeps, has worked its way onto the EuroDate league of passion. The Big Apple has a high number of adventurous and open-minded singles and EuroDate is the perfect place for them to display their can-do attitude.”

“League of passion?” What the heck is that? And why does a dating site named EuroDate include New York City? Oh, it is probably because so many singles of European descent live there. But how does the site know they are adventurous and open-minded?

The press release concluded with: “Last but not least on EuroDates’s list of 5 great dating cities is buzzing Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.”

There was no explanation in the press release regarding why Jakarta is a great dating city, only that it is buzzing.

That’s a lot of hype for five great dating cities without much substance. Nothing was mentioned in the press release about singles age 50+. I guess we just get mixed in with the entire group.

The press release added: “EuroDate expects to receive an even higher level of traffic over the coming months.” My guess is that not a lot of our Champs are going to jump onto EuroDate to find their partner. We all know how difficult long-distance relationships can be. Meeting someone while standing in line at the Boise post office might be more realistic.

Cut the hype. Give us substance.