The History of the Dating Agency: where did the ‘dating agency’ come from & how did Introduction agencies begin?
Well… we’ve carried out our own research and it seems that the first Introduction agencies or ‘dating’ agencies can be traced back to the war. I came across an article that said the first dating agency started with 2 women who placed an ad in a local newspaper and were unexpectedly inundated with letters from single men who had come back from the front line – only to find their girlfriends and partners had moved on! Fact or fiction – and I think this may well be fact, it’s a great story of initiative on the part of the founders.
Should Christians use Christian Introductions & agencies only?
As we’ve seen above dating agencies can be traced back to the war. I run an online Christian dating agency and it would be reasonable for anyone reading this article to assume that what I am about to write is a biased view on the subject – stating that all Christians should use Christian owned dating agencies to find a partner, and that there is no conflict between using dating or introduction agencies, or friend-finder services, and what the Bible says on relationships marriage and finding a partner etc.
But I think we should be completely honest, open and constructive about the subject – to discuss the good with the bad, because yep, along with may positives, introduction services carry a few negatives. Below are. some articles I’ve collected – along with my own thoughts on the subject
Scientists Study Online Dating
by Cari Finkn
Online Dating is so Popular! Online dating has become so common it’s being studied by experts in human behaviour and the financial stakes are growing. Sociologists Robert Brym and Rhonda Lenton – a married couple who met in their university cafeteria – call Internet use “the birth of a new society.” So begins their 56-page study on online dating and personal ads released last week – funded by Microsoft Canada – to give a snapshot of who’s surfing for sex, love and other personal reasons.
The Birth of Online Dating and Personal Ads
Internet dating began about five years ago, says the study. In North America, the dating-services industry was estimated to be worth $1 billion in 1998 and is projected to reach $1.5 billion by 2003, says the Computer Industry Almanac. The main important finding that’s emerged from this study for us is how mainstream online dating has become says Lenton, a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton. The Report on Digital Dating in Canada is an analysis of a phone survey of 1,200 people over 17 and an online survey of 6,581 dating service users.
Who goes Dating Online?
Most online daters in the Lenton-Brym study were men, or about 68% of respondents. Among the other results: 63% of respondents said they had sex with someone they met online; 60% formed at least one long-term relationship, 27% met at least one partner, and three per cent eventually married.*
introductions agencies – UK (secular & general)
www.drawingdownthemoon.co.uk
www.sara-eden.co.uk
carolinecrowther.com
www.attractivepartners.co.uk
Online introductions agencies
www.therightone.com – introduction services
www.datamateuk.com – introduction service
Free online Christian Introductions – introduction service
Irish Introductions and dating
www.eirdate.com
www.abia.org.uk – welcome association of British introduction agencies
Christian Introductions at christianadvice.net
