Online matchmaking on the rise in Turkey
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"My chances of finding a girlfriend on the street are 10 times higher than online," he said.
In fact, both participants and coordinators point out that as in real life, there is a difference between genders, with women often looking for more serious relationships and men for more casual ones.
With greater options you will encounter more people not worth your time, but you also encounter more people you can connect with, said a woman in her early 30s who is also looking for a relationship.
She has been seriously dating her current boyfriend, whom she met at siberalem.com, for months now and is very happy with the relationship.
She spoke of the compatibility she has with her current boyfriend, saying that how much more difficult it would have been to find a match without online help.
She said, "being successful in finding online love isn't about luck actually, it's about knowing what you want and what you don't want."
She is supportive of the online system, saying it is much simpler than in real life, and provides more options, but success is still about being practical enough to sift through the offers.
But Turkish online dating websites are not just about young romantics looking for love, and there is a much more practical element to it all.
Ekmekci said there has been a spike in membership since the mid- 2008 economic downturn.
"As people go out less and spend more time in front of the computer, people prefer to meet people online," she said, noting that there has been a global trend in matchmaking sites.
Nor are all participants necessarily young. In fact, the age range generally falls between 25 and 60, as those younger than 25 have it much easier finding relationships while still in school.
As for finding more lasting relationships, siberalem.com's parent company EBI A.S. launched another site in June, which has a more targeted approach utilizing a battery of questions for members who are strictly seeking marriage.
With 100,000 active members in less than a year, the success stories have already begun coming in.
Ekmekci said that changing trends in what people are looking for reflects greater sociological trends in Turkey. People are getting married later and later in Turkey, and their changing preferences reflect on what they are looking for online.
But in the end, whether it is the economic crisis or changing attitudes towards marriage, nothing seems to spike online matchmaking activity as well as Valentine's Day.
"February has always been our strongest month, especially in the week leading up to Valentine's Day. Everyone starts looking for a partner," said Ekmekci, suggesting romantic considerations trump practical ones after all.
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