Does dating have a season? I've
often noticed that my friends seem to be single around in the summer,
and attached in winter. While this definitely has benefits when it comes
to staying warm in the chilly Joburg winters, I had to wonder if this
was my imagination, or if it was something of a relationship phenomenon.
So onto the web we go.
Mens Health actually did a study on this. Apparently, they monitored people's facebook statuses for the endings of relationships (thanks for respecting our privacy there Mens Heath), and
it turns out that there are definite breakup spikes.
The first spike was that all time favourite day of love, Valentines day.
It's not like you can forget that day... Maybe a good point here is even
if you decide to go no-gift, spoil him or her anyway! The next spike
came in Spring time. Looks like some people take spring cleaning pretty
seriously. The next date which had a spike was 1 April. Though I think
that stat could be related to April fools jokes. I know a lot of people
with some pretty weird senses of humours, and I think if they looked at
the data more seriously they'd pick up the reverse of this the next day.
I just hope their partner had the same sense of humour.
Mondays also
had a spike, and I for one can back that up. I'm terribly grumpy on a
Monday, so it's best if I avoid all contact with my significant other
then :). The last breakup period was, as I had always thought, summer.
Summer is an awesome time to be young and single. Lots of time to be out
and about, for us in the Southern hemisphere it's our long holiday, and
we tend to look our best in summer too, a double spike if you like!
FYI, according to the
same survey, the day you're least likely to break up with someone on is
Christmas day. I guess nobody wants to be the Grinch who stole
Christmas.
So do those stats tie up with the LetsMeet
website stats? In fact they do! December and January are by far the
busiest month on this dating site. Traffic volumes easily climb 40%
during those times! I guess everyone is out and about and looking to
meet new people.
How should this affect your dating? Well on the
positive side, it could mean less competition in Winter time! Another
plus point, is that winter means people are less likely be out having
next to nothing on, so it is somewhat of a look leveller. After all it's
hard to look bad in a long black coat! If you're a woman, add a pair of
boots to the mix and I'll be smiling! People are likely going to be more serious about looking for a partner in winter. Summer may be about the flings, but winter is about connecting!
I'd
love to hear your thoughts to dating in winter. There's a forum topic
open, so please add your comments there:
http://www.letsmeet.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?p=605
