Dating Agencies

[charleychacko]

Dating agencies are not a recent phenomenon, they have been around on one form or another for centuries. People have always needed to meet potential partners to produce families and offspring and every civilization and society has made that possible in one form or another.

In strict faith societies the dating agency may be viewed as the parents where they are the introducers of a a prospective marriage partner through another set of parents. In parts of Asia and Africa society still expects the family to act as an introduction agency, especially where arranged marriages are the norm. For the rest of us, we have to do it ourselves. We are our own self promotion campaign when need be and we are in fact extremely sophisticated at marketing ourselves but that doesn't mean its not without trials and tribulations.

In our modern society as more and more of us have chosen the single path we find that the old systems of meeting people are no longer adequate. Family life is not as close for many, parents and families often not loving in the same city or state. Therefore the reliance on family gatherings for introductions is much rarer. A couple of generations ago we may have met people through our local friends and families too, but as we grow older many of our friends get married and lives become distanced and separated and I am afraid that our local communities are not as close as in previous decades.

We often live in apartment communities where the neighbor is as much a stranger as the man in the street. Combine this with long working hours, stressful careers, busy diaries and the need for rest and recuperation and there are far fewer outlets for dating agencies than before. Indeed many would argue that the modern dating agency is in fact the workplace first and foremost with the after work bar a close second.

A couple of decades ago I remember the dating agencies of old appearing in magazine single page ads where one was asked to list preferences for a partner together with simple multiple choice boxes about what we liked to do in our spare time. For me that was the epitome of the original modern dating agencies. The traditional matchmakers in fact. These still exist and fulfill their function adequately. The way the work is to charge a set fee and then to match you with people on their database. They generally employ sales staff to keep in touch with clients and get new people onto their books. Occasionally a match will occur and you will receive an invitation to receive prospective details before agreeing to a date. From then on it's down to you.

The cost of traditional agencies is far from cheap and you are paying for the time of a person to try and match you. I made a few checks in the UK and US and found that one can pay from $400 per annum up to $30,000 depending on the niche service and level of matching required. Traditional agencies are selective and are careful as to who they place on their books however it can be a soul less business with no guarantees of success. There can be no guarantees with dating agencies of any kind because love is not a guaranteed commodity.

Due to the lifestyles of daters everywhere, we have seen the recent rise of the phenomenon of speed dating. Essentially you would pay to attend a speed dating event across the country for a fee of say $60, whereby you attend a function with hundreds of other single people. You get around 3 minutes with each person you wish to date to get the measure of them. Those that match can then take things further. A recent speed dating event in London attracted 75% women to 25% men which is encouraging for me but clearly states something about our society in general presently. I feel that speed dating is fun but is too expensive for what is on offer and is being cashed in upon by the entrepreneurs. Its is a fashion that  may have a place, but not in the mainstream of dating. Essentially it works best for the physically and verbally gifted.

The Internet has come into its own in the last 5 years with the advent of professional dating agencies available online 24 hours a day. Along with the professional agencies also come the cash-in merchants who know nothing about the dating industry and they are generally to be avoided. Most online dating agencies function the same at the lowest levels in that you can join for free and add a  profile which is basically an electronic form of some of your details and a photograph. Potential suitors will then match with you, or you with them at your leisure and communicate via email.

The free sites are okay to begin with if you simply wish to test the water but I would always recommend going straight to a professional agency as they are always free to join. Register for free and look for s site like our sister site You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login that includes detailed profiling and multiple photos for no cost. The problem with completely free sites is that you can never be sure that the people in the database are serious about dating. That is why I recommend you use
a site that charges for full membership. A full membership will reserve communication between members for those who pay. That way you can be sure you are dealing with serious daters only.

An Internet dating agency that charges will usually be very secure with serious daters, and a proper ecommerce system. Always select a dating agency that never re-bills your credit card so that you can pick and choose when you want to communicate and avoid sites that penalize you for blocking people you don't wish to chat with. Some websites will cancel your membership if you block too many which is something we are totally against with as a safe dating site.  The top agencies will include instant messaging, private email and chat rooms as well as voicemail if possible.

The benefits of Internet dating are clearly obvious. It is distance dating so your safety is assured. You can pick and choose when and who you want to chat with. You can remove yourself from the database at any time and the cost is very small (typically around $24 a month for the best sites) in proportion to any other kind of dating. You may browse photos, leave messages and filter those you don't like. That way you can narrow down the possible suitors to those who you really stand a chance of matching with when you meet.

From the personal ads in a local magazine to dating online, all forms of modern dating are viable in our singles generation and I recommend that you look at all the alternatives on offer. There is no longer any stigma with using dating agencies and I feel that they are extremely valid in our campaign to find our ideal mate.