Lonely Hearts Take New Year Resolutions Online

Friday 4 January 2008

Lonely Hearts Take New Year Resolutions Online

New Year resolutions to find true love have seen Kiwis flock to online dating, with Findsomeone reporting a 30% rise in internet dating activity and membership topping a quarter million for the first time.

“Every year we see the results of 30 and 40 somethings making New Year resolutions to get serious about finding a partner,” said Findsomeone business manager Mike O’Donnell.

“Messaging on Findsomeone is up 32%, and the number of people sending smiles is up 34% so far for the month. Findsomeone total membership has also grown strongly the past week to 252,247 New Zealanders.”

This growth is in line with 2007 when January saw messaging increase 22% and people sending smiles went up 24%.

Recent data suggests the typical online dater is 39, has some tertiary education, is a non-smoker and social drinker. About 55% are male and 45% female. The three online dating hotspots (where online daters are proportionally higher than the population) are Auckland, Wellington and the Waikato. The full list is provided in the table below.

A recent survey by Australian firm Sensis found that four percent of newlyweds had met through internet dating and this amount is growing.

Findsomeone is operated by Trade Me. As well as Findsome New Zealand, Trade Me also operates dating sites in Australia and Canada.

ENDS

Region / Online Daters / Population Size
Northland 2% 3.64%
Auckland 38% 32.43%
Waikato 10% 9.41%
Bay of Plenty 6% 6.34%
Gisborne/Hawkes Bay 3% 4.78%
Taranaki 2% 2.60%
Wanganui 1% 1.10%
Manawatu/Wairarapa 5% 5.35%
Wellington 14% 10.50%
Marlborough/Nelson 3% 3.28%
West Coast 1% 0.75%
Canterbury/Sth Canterbury 13% 13.67%
Otago/Southland 2% 6.15%

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