Looking for love over 50? Try online dating
There is a lot of buzz over “The Golden Bachelor,” a new reality show focused on dating in the golden years. But for those who don’t want to go on TV to find love, online dating sites could be the right move.
Millions of older U.S. adults are single and, undoubtedly, some of them are looking for a partner for companionship, travel or even love. According to Pew Research Center, 62% of adults over the age of 50 are single, so for those seeking out a special someone, there are quite a few fish.
While 72-year-old Gerry Turner of “The Golden Bachelor” was able to meet 22 eligible bachelorettes just by signing up for a reality show, not everyone is willing to jump through the same hoops. So what’s a single lady or gentleman to do?
That same study from Pew reported that about a quarter of single-and-looking adults over 50 have used online dating. But with hundreds of dating apps and websites, it can be difficult to choose where to start.
Depending on whether someone wants to invest money and how serious they are in finding a match, there are a couple of options to try.
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Silver Singles
Silver Singles takes compatibility seriously. But anyone serious about finding a match will want to pay for a premium subscription because that’s the only way to see photos of other singles.
Upon signing up, users take an in-depth personality test that asks basic questions about the importance of a partner’s height and education, but also delves deeper. Some questions ask about your satisfaction with your own appearance, whether you have ethnic preferences and how likely you are to initiate a first kiss. There are also visual questions, where you’ll see four pictures of a work desk in various stages of tidiness and you’ll need to choose which one you associate with most.
By the end of the test, the website has a fairly full personality profile of users it keeps on hand. You can see matches at this point showing a few words that describe them, what makes them laugh, what they do not like and what they’re grateful for. You can also read their full personality profile and decide whether to click a smiley face, send them a message or move on.
Photos are blurry though, unless you pay for a premium subscription. If looks don’t matter at all, then who cares? But if you do decide to pay, a premium subscription will also get you unlimited communication, intelligent matchmaking, the ability to see anyone who has viewed your profile and to know when someone has read your messages.
You can purchase three months for $39.95 per month, six months for $29.95 per month and 12 months for $15.95 per month. The site points out that more than 80% of users have a university degree and that the site is only for those looking for a serious relationship. The robust personality quiz will likely give users a good chance of matching with someone who has the traits they desire. The site sends three to seven matches each day and only compatible members are able to see your photos.
Senior Match
For a website that allows you to see more information for free, try Senior Match. Users only need to input height, ethnicity, relationship status and to write a little something about themselves. If they want, they can put more information including their body type, education, occupation, religion, favorite quote and preferences on political views, music, smoking, drinking and children. There’s an option for a quick search that only includes age, country and state. You can also filter out for location and you’ll get a list of potential matches.
Users can immediately see matches’ username, age, ethnicity, height, body type and profile headline. The website has a feed like you’d see on other social media where members post about their lives. There are also lists of events to join, senior friendly jokes and even a game.
For a premium subscription, users can see who viewed their profile, get unlimited likes and winks, set up auto-reply messaging and gain advanced search criteria. A premium subscription costs $29.95 for one month, $29.95 for three months and $15.95 for six months. The site points out it has more than a million singles over 50 with 6,000 daily active members.
Faith-focused apps
While Silver Singles and Senior Match do allow users to filter for religion, more niche dating sites like LDSsingles for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jdate for members of the Jewish faith or other faith-centric dating sites like Christian Mingle or Catholic Match may better serve someone who believes sharing religious beliefs with a partner is essential.
If singles have something that’s a dealbreaker, most of the websites allow them to filter out matches who don’t meet the criteria.
In general, it’s important to communicate with potential partners carefully and never send someone money or give out personal information until you’re ready. Take these precautions if going on TV to find love isn’t your jam and you’re ready to give online dating a try.
