Lonely Hearts Gearing Up For New Year’s Eve

30 December 2011

Lonely Hearts Gearing Up For New Year’s Eve

Online dating is hitting record levels across New Zealand with 71% of Kiwis yet to find a date for New Year’s Eve parties. It is also occurring in some unlikely spots including Waitakere, Lower Hutt and Dunedin’s North East Valley.

As the Christmas feast wore off, Kiwi singles started thinking of the biggest night of the dating year with messaging on FindSomeone jumping up 30% on the previous week, and 52% higher than the same period a year ago.

“Flirty singles sent 109,000 messages in the last week, an all-time record for Christmas dating activity,” said Mike O’Donnell, FindSomeone operations manager. “Every year we see rises in activity around now, however the last week was the biggest rise we’ve seen in 10 years of operation.”

Last 7 Days Dating Activity Year On Year Change*
New Members 1,116 13.65%
Messages 109,448 52.53%
Smiles 36,209 24.34%
Member Logons 202,375 30.89%
(* based on week from 22-29 December 2011)

“Last week our sister site Trade Me polled its members on their plans for the big night and found only 29% of people had secured a date, so this poor planning may be driving the recent surge in activity,” Mr O’Donnell said. “It’s also been a challenging year for many with the earthquakes and tough economic climate likely to have contributed to feelings of loneliness.”

Nationally, the typical profile of an online dater is a person aged 38, with a tertiary education, and of European extraction. Men outnumber women 55% to 45%, and 46% have children.

Around the country, online dating hotspots include Waitakere and the North Shore in Auckland, Lower Hutt in Wellington, Sumner/New Brighton in Christchurch, and Dunedin’s North East Valley.

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