Granny gets her man; senior online dating

Online dating sites are everywhere it seems, as they are advertised on the Internet and on television in ways that entice people to sign up so they can meet that love of their dreams. Every age and cultural category appears to have its own particular dating site, with overlaps as well, so people can join a site that has every race and age and those sites exclusive to one particular demographic. But do these sites work out well for seniors looking for love or to love again and can Granny get her man that way?



Consumer rankings.com offers the best five they believe are best for seniors, beginning with Zoosk, they describe as “hands down the best dating experience.” After that is Our Time, eHarmony.com, Mate1.com, and Match.com. Consumer ranking tells us the latter site offers the greatest number of potential matches with its more than 9 million members.



With these sites to choose from, seniors have an opportunity to find companionship or that permanent relationship others seek. Still it is a new way of meeting people that might either confuse or amuse a senior.



George joined one of these groups. He just retired at age 65 and said he was ready to find someone he might be compatible with for outdoor activities. George is an avid sportsman, enjoying fishing, hiking, boating and outdoor activities. He lives in Florida, a place that offers opportunities to meet many senior women, but George said he would “give it a try” as he wanted to find out if the dating service might be superior to just incidentally and accidentally meeting some woman, then being disappointed, as that had been his experience with the local scene.



So George investigated Our Time.com. He was impressed with the photos at first. Many of the women were somewhat younger than George, although there were women older and younger as well. He decided to take a chance, went through the procedure of filling out information and signing up. After providing a general description of himself and offering his email for identification and contact purposes, he browsed the site to see who he might want to meet.



It was fun at first, he said, but after several matches he found that the women weren't quite as described. Many of them said they were sports-minded, but when he met them, they seemed to know little about his areas of interest. He determined their answers about sports were a ploy to make contact, and he wondered what else might be hidden, information he might find disappointing.



For George, the online dating was an amusing interlude that somehow didn't compare with “the real thing” as he describes it. He said, “I like to meet women in person not online, I guess. It's okay to make friends, but I guess I am old-fashioned and find it all a little bit intimidating.”



George is one among many who try online dating services and are disappointed. On the other hand, there are success stories as well, as each site has its share of testimonials.



Senior Life offers information for seniors who want to participate in an online service in order to find that special someone. The site claims seniors are joining these online dating sites at greater and greater numbers, since the social contacts seem to be more limited for seniors in general. The advice from senior life to seniors is not to be tempted to lie about age or looks and not to fall for the best looking person right away. Take time to study pictures and biographies, read carefully, and make a careful, thoughtful choice is the major advice offered.



Because online dating is growing, AARP teamed up with an online dating site to offer services for seniors. That online dating site is called HowAboutWe, that not long after it began had 1 million members. The desire to find a match has been a growing phenomenon online, so it appealed to AARP, an organization committed to looking for interests that correspond with senior needs.



HowAboutWe has a unique concept. That concept offers people a chance to make a recommendation on how to meet and what to do, as clues for compatibility and interest. It might be “How about we sit in on a ukulele class” or “How about we take a walk along the river near downtown,” activities in the local area that might be appealing.



A senior living site quotes Erin Scottberg, media director for HowAboutWe.com as saying “allowing seniors to come up with fun activities is a 'much more natural, organic way to get an idea of somebody's personality than a static, one-dimensional profile. As further explained on the site, “Seniors can use these date ideas to find others who share similar interests and presumably carry out the activities once they find a match.” The site offers suggestions and allows seniors to come up with their own ideas as well.



Approximately 20% of those participating in online dating services are seniors. They are attracted more and more to the convenience of the Internet and the broad way of offering social contacts that allow privacy and yet some level of protection at the same time. Seniors can choose where and how they meet and chat and write extensively even before meeting in person. Various news programs have underlined the growth of senior online dating, and as the sites continue to grow in popularity, they must be doing something right, as there are now more than 1000 dating sites to serve an ever-growing need to find the right person, no matter the age.