What’s a dating service?

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“Dating service” is a broad term used to encompass a multitude of dating websites, companies and groups that seek to help single people find and meet potential romantic partners. These services can be based on location, religion, nationality or simply lifestyle compatibility. While dating services have their roots in matchmaking traditions throughout human history, the industry has seen a huge boom in the online age, spawning dozens of services geared towards helping you find a mate, or at least a date.

Some dating services aim to create couples who share the same faith. For personal or cultural reasons, this type of dating service can be invaluable to people who consider religious faith as one of their major personality traits or who don’t date people outside their religion.

In some cultures, people shun dating sites in favor of traditional dating dating services or personal ads in culture-based publications. Matchmakers, such as those found in Jewish and Indian traditions, are often tasked with arranging a marriage, rather than simply hooking up singles. Cultural matchmakers often research both the participants and their families, to ensure that the match is harmonious on multiple levels.

Many dating services that aren’t culturally specific tend to base their matchmaking on personality questionnaires. Participants can be asked all sorts of personal questions, from income level to race preference. By collecting data from questionnaires, these services can then provide you with a list of people you’re most compatible with, based solely on your responses.

The gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) communities are far from ignored in the world of dating services. While some mainstream sites, like Eharmony, exclude gay members, others, like Match, welcome customers of all orientations. There are also a variety of services available primarily for LGBT singles.

For face-to-face dating services, consider researching local companies that organize singles events. In recent years, “speed dating” has become a popular way to meet potential matches while avoiding the embarrassment of blind dates. In speed dating, a person moves from table to table, spending a few minutes with every available participant. After everyone has met, each person presents the organizers with a list of their preferred partners; if there is a match, the organizers provide contact information to both parties.

Another new and rather controversial type of dating service is called “Sugar Daddy” or “Sugar Momma” seekers. Through these services, young and attractive singles can look for an older and wealthy person to contact. Typically, the older person “spoils” his younger partner, either by spending money on them or by providing them with a luxurious lifestyle. In return, the younger partner may be asked to perform a variety of functions, from simple companionship to romantic liaisons. Critics consider this type of service perilously close to prostitution, but proponents argue that it is a mutually beneficial relationship based on the personal needs and dispositions of the participants.

In the past, using a dating service has sometimes had a negative connotation, as if the participant has failed to date the “normal” way. But as modern life becomes more complicated and hectic, dating services are now an efficient and often convenient way to look for partners. If you want to try out a dating service, research your options carefully before choosing and make sure you always use basic precautions when giving out personal information or going on blind dates. While using a dating service might not guarantee that you will find your soul mate, it can definitely help smooth out some of the bumps in the road to love.

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