Would you hire an assistant to find dates for you online?
In theory, online dating is easy. Making a profile takes only about 20 minutes. After that, you click around either at your own volition or through the guidance of an algorithm that picks your matches for you. All this can be done while watching TV or eating bagels. You don't even need to go outside. Sounds like a total no-brainer, right? Wrong. Dating is time-consuming, especially online. Enter online dating assistants. Have you tried one or would you?
Arguments for both sides feel strongly on whether young marriage works best.
It wasn't so long ago (1980, to be exact) that the average age of American women marrying for the first time was 22. Less than 30 years later, the average age for a first marriage has jumped to 26 for women and 28 for men. In a recent column for the Washington Post, Mark Regnerus argues that this trend is dangerous because women are putting off marriage during their most "marketable" years, before they have to "beg, pray, borrow and pay to reclaim" their fertility. He writes: "Marriages that begin at age 20, 21 or 22 are not nearly so likely to end in divorce as many presume," but he certainly fails to convince me, a 32-year-old woman not quite married for the first time yet.
The Washington Post publishes a Texas statistician's pleas for women to stop marrying after age 23.
Just when we thought it was fine for a woman to marry at any age she damn-well pleased, some guy in Texas has come along to correct us.
And sadly, the guy is not just any guy, but a sociologist who teaches at a legitimate university (University of Texas-Austin) and publishes books that are considered academic (the latest is titled Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers).
His name is Mark Regnerus. And in a new piece for the Washington Post, he says that — while he sees no issue with the fact that men are marrying later these days (28 years old for the first marriage now, as opposed to 23 years old in 1970) — he is disheartened to learn that women are now also choosing to marry later as well — around the spinsterly age 26.
Wonder how they will get laid now that they are middle class.
According to the Washington Post, sugar daddies are bearing a terrible cross now that the market has gone from black to red. "It's been incredibly stressful for me," one recently downsized man says. "I was so used to using my financial situation to leverage my dating." Now what is he supposed to do? Date non-gold diggers? Are they even pretty?
That cheating husband of yours actually may not be heeding the call of his "little brain" and instead heeding the call of his "big" one: Swedish scientists found that heterosexual men with two copies of a gene variant (called an allele) were twice as likely to report marital problems.
Women married to men with one or two copies of the allele also reported being less satisfied in their marriages, especially in regards to the couple's intimacy and ability to connect. The Washington Post calls the study "the first time that science has shown a direct link between a man's genes and his aptitude for monogamy. "
High fuel prices mean less time together for LDR lovers.
According to the Washington Post, couples in long-distance relationships face higher travel costs due to rising fuel prices. This means fewer visits, maintaining travel budgets, and creative planning.
Turns out, getting a divorce doesn't have to be a complete disaster
It just so happens that there is an amicable, sane way to see the other side of a divorce, says Jennifer Huget of washingtonpost.com: "Getting divorced isn't anyone's idea of a good time. But doing it right can set the stage for a happier life for you, your ex and your kids. Here are tips from five divorce experts -- three men, two women, four of them divorced themselves (two of them twice) -- for getting through it."
Maybe Pam Anderson should have a look-see? She must be pretty versed the art of the break-up these days...Check out the full article at: "How Can I Get a Good Divorce?" (Note: you'll need a subscription to view. But it's free. So why not sign up?)
